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THE 

WHY,  WHEN  AND  HOW 
REVIVALS 


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BV  3790  .M35  1901 
Mallalieu,  Willard  F.  1828- 

1911. 
The  why,  when,  and  how  of 


The 

Why.  When,  and  How 
OF  Revivals 


BisKop  W.   F.   Mallaliexi 


NEW^  VORI\,    EATON  &t  MAINS 
CINCINNATI.  JENNINGS  €*  PYE 


Copyright  by 

EATON  &  MAINS. 

1901. 


Zo  jflRs  /iRotbcr 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.   Perilous  Times 9 

II.  Faith  Encouraged 15 

III.  Wise  and  Timely  Plans 21 

IV.  God's  Prompt  Response 31 

V.  Revival  Persistency 41 

VI.  Evangelistic  PreacMng 4X 

VII.  Doctrinal  Preaching*. 59 

VIII.  Blind  Leaders  of  the  Blind 69 

IX.  Ambassadors  from  Heaven's  Court 79 

X.  Special  Helps  in  Revivals 87 

XI.  Pastoral  Visitation 95 

XII.  Feeding  the  Flock loi 

XIII.  Looking  Out  for  Strangers iii 

XIV.  Saving  the  Children . . : 123 

XV.  Sunday  School  and  Epw'orth  League 129 

XVI.  Help  for  the  SoiTowing  apd  Suffering 141 

XVII.  Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 147 


CHAPTER    I 
Perilous    Times 


CHAPTER  I 
Perilous   Times 

Hark,  how  the  watchmen  cry! 
Attend  the  trumpet's  sound; 

Stand  to  your  arms,  the  foe  is  nigh, 
The  powers  of  hell  surround. 

Who  bow  to  Christ's  command, 
Your  arms  and  hearts  prepare; 

The  day  of  battle  is  at  hand- 
Go  forth  to  glorious  war. 

—Charles  Wesley. 

O  Lord,  thy  work  revive. 

In  Zion's  gloomy  hour, 
And  let  our  dying  graces  live 

By  thy  restoring  power. 

O  let  thy  chosen  few 

Awake  to  earnest  prayer; 
Their  covenant  again  renew, 

And  walk  in  filial  fear. 

—Ph(rbe  H.  Brown. 

O  Lord,  I  have  heard  thy  speech,  and  was  afraid: 
O  Lord,  revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years,  in 
the  midst  of  the  years  make  known;  in  wrath  remem- 
ber mercy. — Hab.  iii,  2. 

And  when  ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars, 
be  ye  not  troubled:  for   such  things  must  needs  be; 
but  the  end  shall  not  be  yet.— Mark  xiii,  7. 
9 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit  you  like  men, 
be  strong. — i  Cor.  xvi,  13. 

Put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able 
to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil.  For  ye  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places. 
— Eph.  vi,   II,   12. 

This  know  also,  that  in  the  last  days  perilous  times 
shall  come.  For  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own 
selves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphemers,  dis- 
obedient to  parents,  unthankful,  unholy. — 2  Tim.  iii,  i,  2. 

The  present  hour  is  a  time  of  bewilderment. 
The  world  is  full  of  unrest.  Christendom 
is  in  a  perilous  condition.  Turn  which  way  we 
will,  we  are  confronted  by  portentous  clouds 
full  of  danger  and  death.  These  things  are  so 
for  the  reason  that  we  are  living  in  a  transi- 
tional age.  The  customs  and  habits  of  ages 
have  been  revolutionized  by  steam  and  elec- 
tricity. Knowledge  is  increased,  but  private 
morals  and  civic  virtues  are  far  below  the 
proper  standard.  The  rum  power  was  never 
more  masterful,  malignant,  and  aggressive 
than  now.  It  antagonizes  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  constantly,  vigorously,  and  everywhere. 
The  dance,  the  theater,  vile  pictures,  and  vile 
literature  combine  to  corrupt  and  destroy  our 
youth.  The  Sabbath  is  recklessly  desecrated; 
10 


Perilous  Times 

the  house  of  God  is  abandoned,  and  the  Bible 
is  despised  by  millions  of  our  people.  Here 
and  there  are  those  who  occupy  chairs  in 
schools  of  theology  or  pulpits  in  the  churches 
who  for  the  sake  of  appearing  smart  align 
themselves  with  the  scoffers  and  infidels  of  this 
and  other  times  and  countries.  Too  many 
working  people,  toilers  with  hand  or  brain, 
have  taken  themselves  outside  the  range  of 
Christian  influence  and  more  and  more  are  be- 
coming utterly  earthy  and  of  the  earth.  A 
thousand  remedies  might  be  proposed  for  this 
sad  and  alarming  condition  of  affairs,  but  in 
all  the  range  of  possibilities  there  is  but  one 
sure  remedy,  and  that  is  the  living  Gospel  of 
the  Son  of  God.  It  will  surely  destroy  sin  and 
cure  all  human  ills  if  it  can  be  put  in  practice 
in  daily  life.  There  is  absolutely  no  call  for 
any  new  truth ;  the  teachings  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  meet  in  the  fullest  manner  all  the  de- 
mands of  these  disturbed  times.  It  is  absolute- 
ly certain  that  in  the  dissemination  of  these 
teachings  there  is  no  occasion  for  extravagant, 
sensational  contrivances.  What  is  needed  is 
the  plain,  simple,  intense,  persistent  presenta- 
tion in  all  our  pulpits  of  the  whole  round  of 
Gospel  truths.  Then  there  must  be  holy  living 
II 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

on  the  part  of  all  preachers  and  professors.  In 
these  the  unbelieving  v^orld  has  a  right  to  de- 
mand an  illustration  of  the  reality  of  Christian 
truth.  The  example  must  go  with  the  precept. 
There  is  nothing  like  holy  living  to  give  em- 
phasis to  the  Gospel. 

12 


CHAPTER  II 
FaitH    Encouraged 


CHAPTER  II 
Faith  Encouraged 

Workman  of  God !    O  lose  not  heart, 

But  learn  what  God  is  like; 
And  in  the  darkest  battlefield 

Thou  shalt  know  where  to  strike. 

— F.  W.  Faber. 

And  let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing:  for  in  due 
season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not. — Gal.  vi,  9. 

They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy.  He  that 
goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall 
doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his 
sheaves  with  him. — Psa.  cxxvi,  5,  6. 

Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  un- 
movable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in 
the  Lord. — i  Cor.  xv,  58. 

It  must  be  clear  to  every  thoughtful  Chris- 
tain,  and  especially  to  every  Methodist,  that 
the  thoughts  just  presented  suggest  the  im- 
portance and  necessity  of  a  v^idespread,  thor- 
ough, and  profound  revival  of  old-time  re- 
ligion in  all  our  churches.  More  machinery, 
more  organizations,  more  patent  appliances, 
will  not  suffice.  Summer  schools,  lecture 
courses,  fairs,  festivals,  picnics,  and  all  the 
15 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

rest,  are  utterly  unavailing.  We  may  have  all 
these  things  and  still  a  spiritual  death  may 
smite  all  our  churches.  We  must  find  the  old 
paths  and  walk  in  the  old  ways.  The  arm  of 
God  is  not  shortened  that  he  cannot  save.  The 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  infinite.  The 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  can  still  cleanse  from  all 
sin.  We  ought  to  have  a  revival  that  will  cover 
our  whole  country,  and  overlapping  its  re- 
motest boundaries  shall  make  its  presence  and 
power  felt  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

The  aim  of  God's  people  should  be  to  make 
this  revival  perennial  rather  than  spasmodic. 
There  is  a  constant  tendency  to  unsteadiness 
in  thought,  faith,  and  Christian  activity.  A 
condition  of  religious  life  closely  akin  to  the 
revival  spirit  ought  to  prevail  constantly  in  all 
our  churches.  Sad  to  say,  this  is  not  the  ex- 
perience of  very  many.  There  are  churches 
which  exist,  for  the  most  part,  in  a  dormant 
condition.  They  do  sometimes  make  an  effort, 
for  two  or  three  weeks  in  a  year,  to  shake  off 
the  lethargy  that  oppresses  them,  but  they  soon 
relapse  into  their  usual  somnolent  condition. 
Some  of  them  do  not  even  have  a  revival 
spasm;  they  live,  year  after  year,  in  absolute 
quietness;  they  have  no  special  anxiety  for 
i6 


Faith  Encouraged 

themselves,  and  not  any  at  all  for  perishing 
sinners.  Even  a  spasmodic  revival  for  such 
churches  would  be  a  great  improvement. 

The  great,  present,  pressing  need  is  that  all 
our  pastors  and  people  should  give  more  ear- 
nest attention  to  the  development  and  cultiva- 
tion and  encouragement  of  a  style  of  religious 
life  that  shall  be  constantly  aggressive,  and 
ever  alert  in  the  work  of  leading  souls  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  this  condition,  so  much 
to  be  desired,  shall  be  realized  the  idea  must  be 
forever  abandoned  that  professional  or  non- 
professional evangelists  are  a  necessity.  And 
yet  I  would  not  in  the  most  distant  manner 
venture  even  to  suggest  that  there  are  many 
evangelists  who  are  not  doing  most  excellent 
service,  but  pastors  and  people  must  come  to 
understand  that  they  are  not  an  absolute  neces- 
sity. The  substantial,  persistent  revival  that 
flourishes  alike  in  summer's  heat  and  winter's 
cold  is  not  the  creation  of  a  mere  human 
evangelist.  Such  a  revival  is  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Again,  it  is  essential  that  pastor 
and  people  should  be  possessed,  enthused  with 
the  thought  that  in  the  economy  of  divine 
grace  there  is  never  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances when  it  is  justifiable  to  say,  "Four 
(3)  17 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

months  and  then  cometh  harvest."    That  is  the 

language  of  inexcusable  unbelief.    That  is  the 

language  of  those  who  have  never  proved  the 

all-embracing  scope  of  the   divine  promises. 

Faith  claims  the  fulfillment  of  the  word  of 

Jesus  where  he  says:  ''Lift  up  your  eyes,  and 

look  on  the  fields;  for  they  are  white  already 

to  harvest.      And   he   that   reapeth   receiveth 

wages,  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal: 

that  both  he  that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth 

may  rejoice  together."     A  gasp  of  life,  now 

and  then,  is  better  than  death;  a  spasmodic 

revival  is  better  than  none  at  all;  but  the  ideal 

revival  is  one  that  abides  and  continues  all 

through  the  year. 

i8 


CHAPTER  III 
Wise   and  Timely  Plans 


CHAPTER  III 
Wise  and  Timely  Plans 

Behold  the  servant  of  the  Lord ! 

I  wait  thy  guiding  hand  to  feel ; 
To  hear  and  keep  thy  every  word, 

To  prove  and  do  thy  perfect  will : 
Joyful  from  my  own  works  to  cease, 
Glad  to  fulfill  all  righteousness. 

— Charles  Wesley. 
The  sluggard  will  not  plow  by  reason  of  the  cold; 
therefore  shall  he  beg  in  harvest,  and  have  nothing. — 
Prov.  XX,  4. 

Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there 
may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and  prove  me  now  here- 
with, saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the 
windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that 
there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it. — Mai. 
iii,  10. 

Revivals  do  not  come  by  chance,  nor  do 
they  come  by  arbitrary  divine  appointment. 
There  have  been  revivals  that  seemed  to  take 
place  without  any  definite  prearrangement  or 
plan,  but  they  may  be  accounted  for  on  the 
ground  that  some  burdened  soul,  humble  and 
unknown,  has  been  in  consultation  with  God; 
and,  while  others  have  been  careless  and  indif- 
ferent, this  one  soul,  like  Elijah  of  old,  has  pre- 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

vailed  in  prayer,  and  alone  has  claimed  the 
promise,  that,  being  fulfilled,  has  brought  re- 
freshing showers  in  abundant  measure  to  the 
dry  and  barren  fields,  making  even  desert 
places  to  bud  and  blossom.  But  the  existence 
of  such  exceptional  cases  does  not  militate 
against  the  idea  that  God's  work  in  grace  is  not 
altogether  different  from  his  work  in  nature. 
If  the  husbandman  carefully  plans  with  refer- 
ence to  the  desired  harvest,  much  more  should 
the  pastor  plan  with  reference  to  the  high  and 
holy  work  which  has  been  committed  to  his 
hands.  Wise  planning  for  revivals  will  cer- 
tainly take  into  account  both  times  and  sea- 
sons. God  can  pour  out  the  gracious  influence 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  any  time  upon  human 
hearts,  but  there  are  conditions  of  climate,  oc- 
cupation, and  general  environment  which  must 
materially  affect  the  results.  In  a  farming  dis- 
trict it  might  not  be  best,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, to  undertake  revival  work  in  the 
very  busiest  part  of  the  heated  term  of  sum- 
mer; and  it  might  be  said,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  it  would  not  be  wise  to  enter  upon  revival 
services  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  usually 
the  roads  and  streets  are  in  a  notoriously  bad 
condition.     Thus  there  are  many  considera- 

22 


Wise  and  Timely  Plans 

tions  to  be  thought  of  in  determining  the  time 
for  special  revival  services. 

It  is  not  possible  to  emphasize  too  strongly 
the  unwisdom  of  putting  off  until  the  first  week 
in  January — the  so-called  Week  of  Prayer — 
the  great  revival  effort  of  the  year.  For  the 
past  twenty  or  more  years  we  Methodists  have 
been  more  and  more  adopting  this  unfortunate 
practice.  There  has  been  an  existing  sentiment 
that  it  was  something  wonderful  that  all  evan- 
gelical Christians  should  unite  in  the  observ- 
ance, and  we  have  allowed  sentiment  to  over- 
rule sound,  sober  judgment  and  intelligent 
common  sense.  It  is  time  to  call  a  halt.  Senti- 
ment is  well  enough  in  its  place,  but  if  any 
business  demands  the  exercise  of  our  best 
judgment,  it  is  that  of  saving  the  souls  of  the 
perishing.  The  result  of  yielding  to  sentiment 
in  this  matter  is  that  in  far  too  many  cases  we 
have  given  up  the  months  of  October  and 
November,  to  say  nothing  of  September  and 
December,  to  lecture  courses  of  various  kinds, 
to  fairs  and  festivals,  and  nearly  all  sorts  of 
entertainments,  and  have  put  off  our  special 
revival  work  until  the  first  week  in  January. 
We  have  thus  lost,  in  affairs  of  minor  impor- 
tance, and  sometimes  of  very  doubtful  utility, 
23 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

the  very  best  part  of  the  year  for  pubHc  gather- 
ings of  the  people,  and  have  shut  ourselves  up 
to  a  time  when  we  are  more  than  likely  to  have 
exceedingly  cold  weather,  and  when  the  roads 
and  streets  may  be  in  a  condition  to  render  it 
practically  impossible  for  most  of  the  people 
to  attend  the  revival  meetings  if  they  should 
be  held.  This  great  and  widely  prevailing  mis- 
take must  be  corrected  if  we  hope  to  secure  the 
best  possible  results.  In  the  choice  months  of 
spring  and  autumn  let  everything  give  way  to 
the  revival.  Let  all  other  enterprises  of  the 
church  give  the  revival  the  unobstructed  right 
of  way;  let  the  rough  places  be  made  smooth 
and  plain,  and  the  crooked  places  be  made 
straight;  let  the  valleys  be  filled  and  the  hills 
leveled,  and  let  all  the  people  harmoniously  and 
lovingly  agree  to  unite  in  the  revival  efforts 
that  surely  in  all  parts  of  the  country  north  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  ought  to  commence, 
in  case  of  the  spring  Conferences,  as  early  as 
the  middle  of  September;  and  in  the  fall  Con- 
ferences, where  the  preachers  do  not  move,  as 
soon  as  the  Conferences  adjourn,  and  where 
the  preachers  move,  as  soon  as  they  are  settled 
in  their  new  fields  of  labor. 

In  some  sections  of  the  country  there  is  no 
24 


Wise  and  Timely  Plans 

better  time  for  revival  work  than  the  spring. 
April,  May,  and  June  are  three  of  the  most  de- 
lightful months  in  the  whole  year.  Why 
should  they  not  be  utilized  for  revival  work? 
Surely  they  might  be,  if  the  thought  should 
take  possession  of  the  minds  of  the  pastors  of 
our  churches,  and  if  the  divinely  appointed 
means  should  be  employed.  Taking  all  our 
Conferences  together,  and  a  very  large  ma- 
jority of  them  are  not  held  in  the  spring.  In 
all  cases  where  the  appointments  are  not 
changed  the  preachers  and  their  families  are 
acquainted  with  the  people  and  know  the  con- 
ditions of  the  communities  and  the  churches 
where  they  are  stationed,  and  they  can  at  once 
enter  upon  a  special  campaign  for  the  conver- 
sion of  souls.  Where  preachers  have  been  re- 
moved, and  they  find  themselves  in  new  fields, 
what  better  method  can  there  be  for  com- 
mencing the  work  of  the  year  than  to  make  an 
earnest  effort  to  secure  a  genuine  revival  of 
religion.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  postpone  all 
other  matters,  except  such  as  must  be  imme- 
diately considered,  and  concentrate  all  the  skill, 
strength,  and  toil  of  pastor  and  people  upon  re- 
vival work? 

In    revival    work    delays    are    dangerous. 
25 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

''Now  is  the  accepted  time."  Napoleon  started 
too  late  when  he  set  out  for  Moscow.  Two 
thousand  French  cannon  would  not  be  laid 
along  the  walks  within  the  Kremlin,  as  one  day 
we  saw  them,  if  the  ill-fated  campaign  had 
begun  in  season.  The  defeat  that  led  to  the 
ultimate  overthrow  of  the  French  emperor  was 
the  result  of  needless  delay. 

Many  a  revival  effort  has  proved  a  failure 
because  wisdom  was  not  exercised  in  the  selec- 
tion of  the  time  of  making  it.  No  sane  man  in 
the  Mississippi  valley  plants  corn  in  Septem- 
ber. There  are  proper  times  for  doing  all 
things  that  need  to  be  done.  God's  work  is  not 
so  different  from  all  other  work  that  we  can 
afford  to  throw  away  all  common  sense  when 
planning  to  carrying  it  forward.  Nor  is  it  of 
so  small  importance  that  it  can  be  made  to  give 
place  to  everything  else;  it  ought  always  to 
have  the  right  of  way.  Nothing  can  compare 
with  it  in  importance.  Nothing  so  affects  the 
destinies  of  immortal  souls. 

Almost  every  winter  is  exceptional;  at  least 
this  is  the  case  in  the  opinion  of  very  many. 
Whether  this  be  true  or  not,  it  is  manifest  that 
the  winter  season  is  not  the  time  when  the 
singing  of  birds  is  heard  in  the  land.  Every 
26 


Wise  and  Timely  Plans 

winter  witnesses  the  complete  failure  of  un- 
numbered revival  efforts,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  the  severe  weather  has  interfered.  Much 
snow,  high  winds,  zero  temperature,  are  the 
characteristics  which  make  an  exceptional  win- 
ter. In  such  weather  it  is  difficult  and  very 
expensive  to  warm  churches,  the  roads  are  in 
bad  condition  and  in  many  instances  almost 
impassable,  and  the  people  do  not  come  to  the 
church  for  the  good  and  sufficient  reasons  that 
it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  do  so,  and  health 
and  life  would  be  imperiled  by  the  attempt  to 
come.  It  would  therefore  be  worse  than  folly, 
it  would  be  wicked  to  upbraid,  much  worse  to 
scold  people  for  not  coming  out  to  church 
under  such  circumstances.  Suicide  is  not  jus- 
tifiable even  in  promoting  revivals.  Sometimes 
we  have  reasonable  winter  weather,  and  when 
this  is  the  case  the  winter  months  are  not  un- 
favorable for  revival  work ;  but  the  rule  is  that 
all  through  December,  January,  February,  and 
March,  in  the  latitudes  north  of  the  Ohio, 
and  in  the  Western  as  well  as  the  Eastern 
States,  the  weather  will  be,  for  the  most  part, 
very  unfavorable  for  the  gathering  of  the  con- 
gregations we  wish  to  reach, 
27 


CHAPTER  IV 
God's   Prompt  Response 


CHAPTER  IV 
God's  Prompt  Response. 

Let  Zion's  watchmen  all  awake, 

And  take  the  alarm  they  give; 
Now  let  them  from  the  mouth  of  God 

Their  solemn  charge  receive. 

'Tis  not  a  cause  of  small  import 

The  pastor's  care  demands; 
But  what  might  fill  an  angel's  heart, 

And  filled  a  Saviour's  hands. 

— Philip  Doddridge. 

Except  the  Lord  conduct  the  plan, 
The  best  concerted   schemes  are  vain. 

And  never  will  succeed ; 
We  spend  our  wretched  strength  for  naught ; 
But  if  our  works  in  thee  be  wrought, 

They  shall  be  blest  indeed. 

— Charles  Wesley. 

Blow  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  sanctify  a  fast,  call  a 
solemn  assembly:  gather  the  people,  sanctify  the  con- 
gregation, assemble  the  elders,  gather  the  children.  .  .  . 
Let  the  priests,  the  ministers  of  the  Lord,  weep  between 
the  porch  and  the  altar,  and  let  them  say.  Spare  thy 
people,  O  Lord,  and  give  not  thine  heritage  to  re- 
proach.— Joel  ii,  15-17. 

Wise  planning  involves  the  idea  of  marshal- 
ing all  the  forces  of  the  church  for  active  co- 
31 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

operation  with  the  pastor.  It  will  not  be  amiss 
if  the  pastor  calls  together  his  entire  official 
board,  and,  after  a  season  of  earnest  prayer, 
unfolds  to  them  the  deep  desires  of  his  heart. 
Let  him  tell  these  men  of  God,  who  bear  the 
burdens  of  the  church,  that  he  wants,  that  he 
must  have,  their  sympathy  and  help;  let  him 
get  them  to  renew  their  vows  of  consecration 
and  seek  for  a  special  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  for  the  great  work  that  is  to  be  under- 
taken. It  ought  to  be  a  comparatively  easy 
thing  for  the  average  pastor  to  secure  the  well- 
nigh  united  and  cordial  support  of  his  entire 
officiary,  and  when  this  is  done  a  great  step  has 
been  taken  toward  ultimate  success.  Now  and 
then  a  citizen  of  *'Meroz"  may  be  found  even 
among  the  official  brethren;  but  the  hosts  of 
God  must  not  delay  on  that  account.  They 
may  go  forth  to  battle,  sure  of  victory. 

In  one  of  the  prominent  churches  of  one  of 
the  largest  Conferences  in  New  York  a  com- 
paratively young  man  found  his  place  of  labor. 
The  church  was  wealthy,  fashionable,  influen- 
tial socially,  and  altogether  a  very  respectable 
and  well-to-do  people.  They  gave  their  pastor 
a  delightful  parsonage  for  his  home,  his  salary 
was  ample  and  promptly  paid,  and  his  vacation 
32 


God's  Prompt  Response 

was  entirely  satisfactory.  It  must,  however, 
be  said  that  religion  was  at  a  low  ebb,  class 
meetings  almost  unknown,  and  the  midweek 
prayer  meeting  very  poorly  attended.  It  is 
undoubtedly  true  that  there  are  some  few  pas- 
tors who  under  the  circumstances  would  not 
have  worried  or  laid  awake  nights  in  view  of 
such  conditions.  But  the  pastor  was  not  of 
this  type.  He  found  a  great  company  of  un- 
converted young  people  in  the  Sunday  school, 
many  young  men  and  women  connected  with 
the  families  of  his  church  members  who  seldom 
attended  the  preaching  services.  He  also  found 
some  few  of  his  members  who  occasionally 
attended  the  theater,  were  found  in  the  dance 
hall,  were  known  to  play  cards — some  of  them 
for  prizes — and  his  heart  was  troubled.  For 
weeks  he  studied  the  problem  by  night  and 
day,  prayed  often  and  long  in  his  hours  of 
meditation  and  study,  preached  tenderly  and 
faithfully.  At  last  he  called  all  his  official 
brethren  together,  nearly  thirty  of  them,  and 
fully  opened  his  heart  to  them.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  season  of  protracted  and  earnest 
prayer,  and  then  each  official  promised  to  stand 
by  the  pastor  in  any  effort  he  might  make  to 
secure  a  revival  of  religion.  It  needs  only  to 
(3)  33 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

be  said  that  from  this  official  meeting  for  con- 
sultation and  prayer  and  consecration  thirty 
men  went  forth  to  do  the  work  of  lay  evan- 
gelists. In  shop  and  store,  in  offices  and  by 
the  wayside,  these  men  with  a  fresh  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  went  about  telling  the  old,  old 
story  illustrated  by  their  new  experiences. 
The  immediate  result  was  the  conversion  of 
more  than  two  hundred  people,  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  them  prominent  men  and  women. 
The  collateral  results  were  the  abandonment 
by  all  the  backslidden  church  members  of  the 
theater,  the  card  table,  and  the  dance.  The 
ultimate  results  God  alone  can  know  and  esti- 
mate, but  it  is  sure  they  are  beyond  finite  meas- 
urement, and  they  will  be  as  lasting  as  eternity. 
And  this  came  about  because  the  burdened 
heart,  the  anxious,  loving  heart  of  the  pastor 
led  him  by  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  plan 
his  work  wisely  and  carry  it  forward  to  glori- 
ous sucess. 

Here  is  another  instance  of  the  same  kind, 
and,  as  in  the  former  case,  this  is  a  young  man. 
There  is  no  good  reason  why  old  men  may  not 
go  and  do  likewise.  It  seems  that  the  bishop 
who  was  to  preside  at  his  Conference  sent  out 
a  request  to  the  preachers  and  people  of  all  the 
34 


God's  Prompt  Response 

charges  to  observe  the  fourth  of  October  as  a 
day  of  special  prayer  for  the  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  the  revival  of  the  work  of 
God.  This  young  preacher  made  his  plan  to 
observe  the  day  fully  and  faithfully.  He  was 
not  a  city  preacher,  but  a  modern  circuit  rider, 
and  so  he  called  all  his  people  together  at  the 
central  appointment,  with  the  following  re- 
sults. This  is  what  he  has  to  say  of  what  hap- 
pened: 'There  were  about  a  hundred  people 
present  all  day  from  the  four  appointments  on 
my  charge.  It  was  one  of  the  most  glorious 
days  ever  spent  by  me  on  the  earth.  Three 
were  converted  on  that  day.  We  continued 
on,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  were  converted 
at  the  one  appointment.  We  have  had  revivals, 
and  many  conversions  at  all  points  on  the 
charge.  Have  all  our  collections  up  to  the  ap- 
portionments.'^ What  a  magnificent  record! 
No  outside  help  of  any  kind.  Our  young 
preacher  had  faith  in  God;  waited  before  the 
mercy  seat  till  he  received  the  baptism  of 
power;  called  his  people  around  him,  and  they 
answered  to  his  call,  and  the  work  went 
straight  on  in  the  power  of  God.  Church 
members  will  follow  such  leadership,  and  glori- 
ous results  will  be  secured.     What  this  one 

35 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

young  preacher  accomplished,  what  he  did, 
may  be  done  by  thousands  of  young  preachers. 
It  costs  thought,  planning,  toil,  consecration, 
self-denial,  holy  living,  mighty  faith,  but  all 
these  are  within  the  reach  of  all.  Why  hesi- 
tate? Why  halt  when  such  glorious  possibili- 
ties are  within  easy  reach,  when  such  immortal 
victories  may  be  won  ? 

Here  is  still  another  case  in  point.  The 
preacher  was  not  one  of  the  highly  exalted 
kind,  but  a  good,  straightforward  man  of  God. 
He  had  more  than  sixty  converts. 

How  he  did  it!  How,  within  two  months 
of  the  adjournment  of  Conference,  did  he 
gather  more  than  sixty  happy  converts  into  his 
church  ?  He  went  away  from  Conference  find- 
ing fault  with  the  presiding  elders  and  bishop 
because  he  was  not  sent  to  a  more  inviting 
field!  Not  a  bit  of  it.  Well,  then,  he  went 
away  from  Conference  grumbling  because  no- 
body seemed  to  appreciate  his  ability,  and  he 
was  just  dropped  down  in  a  haphazard  way! 
Not  a  bit  of  it.  But  certainly  when  he  reached 
his  new  appointment  he  let  all  the  people  know 
that  they  had  a  man  who  was  away  above  their 
style,  and  his  high  intellectual  attainments  en- 
titled him  to  a  much  better  place !  Not  a  bit  of 
36 


God's  Prompt  Response 

it.  At  all  events,  the  pastor  and  his  wife  be- 
gan as  soon  as  possible  to  find  fault  with  the 
parsonage,  and  fuss  about  the  furniture;  and 
they  did  this  in  a  very  public  way !  Not  a  bit 
of  it.  Well,  but  the  pastor  put  all  his  wits  to 
work  to  whitewash  the  garden  fence,  and  put- 
ter around  with  a  broom  and  hammer  and 
handsaw  to  fix  things  up  while  he  scolded 
about  the  carelessness  of  his  predecessor !  Not 
a  bit  of  it. 

Surely,  if  he  did  not  do  these  things,  what 
did  he  do?  First  of  all,  he  thanked  God  that 
he  was  alive  and  able  to  go  to  his  appointment 
— glad  that  he  had  a  place  anywhere  to  preach 
the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God;  glad 
that  the  Eternal  God  was  his  refuge,  and  that 
underneath  him  were  the  everlasting  arms; 
glad  that  in  his  soul  he  had  the  precious  wit- 
ness of  the  Holy  Ghost  conjoined  with  the  tes- 
timony of  his  own  consciousness  that  he  was 
a  child  of  God.  So  he  went  to  his  work,  light 
in  his  eye,  a  smile  on  his  face,  a  warm  hand 
grasp  and  cheering  word  for  his  people, 
whether  rich  or  poor,  whether  clad  in  rags  or 
in  silks.  Then  the  first  Sunday  instead  of 
making  a  display  he  preached  the  Gospel;  he 
went  into  the  Sunday  school.  Then  just  as 
Z7 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

soon  as  things  were  fairly  settled  in  the  par- 
sonage he  began  to  call  from  house  to  house, 
talking  about  Jesus  and  the  great  salvation, 
and  praying  with  the  families  as  occasion  of- 
fered; and  so  in  the  class  meetings  and  prayer 
meetings  his  presence  was  an  inspiration,  and 
of  course  the  people  rallied  around  him,  and 
soon  the  first  convert  appeared,  and  then  an- 
other and  another,  and  as  the  number  multi- 
plied faith  increased,  and  so  the  work  went  on, 
and  it  will  go  on.  It  always  goes  on  with  such 
preachers. 

How  he  did  it!  Why,  just  as  any  fully 
consecrated,  sweetly  saved  preacher  may  do  it. 
The  pathway  to  success  is  sure  if  we  will  walk 
in  it,  and  the  w^eakest  may  walk  in  it.  This 
man  planned  and  worked,  and  expected  suc- 
cess. He  did  not  wait.  He  wisely  used  appro- 
priate means  and  achieved  success. 
38 


CHAPTER  V 
Revival    Persistency 


CHAPTER  V 

Revival  Persistency 

O  ye  of  fearful  hearts,  be  strong ! 

Your  downcast  eyes  and  hands  lift  up ! 
Ye  shall  not  be  forgotten  long; 

Hope  to  the  end,  in  Jesus  hope ! 
Tell  him  ye  wait  his  grace  to  prove; 
And  cannot  fail,  if  God  is  love. 

— Charles  Wesley. 

Although  the  vine  its  fruit  deny, 

Although  the  olive  yield  no  oil. 
The  withering  fig  trees  droop  and  die, 

The  fields  elude  the  tiller's  toil. 
The  empty  stall  no  herd  afford. 

And  perish  all  the  bleating  race. 
Yet  will  I  triumph  in  the  Lord, — 

The  God  of  my  salvation  praise. 

— Charles  Wesley. 

And  he  said,  Take  the  arrows.  And  he  took  them. 
And  he  said  unto  the  king  of  Israel,  Smite  upon  the 
ground.  And  he  smote  thrice,  and  stayed.  And  the 
man  of  God  was  wroth  with  him,  and  said.  Thou 
shouldest  have  smitten  five  or  six  times;  then  hadst 
thou  smitten  Syria  till  thou  hadst  consumed  it. — 
2  Kings,  xiii,  i8,  19. 

And  let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing:  for  in  due 
season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not. — Gal.  vi,  9. 
41 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

Revival  persistency  assumes  that  the 
preacher  has  common  sense,  and  makes  con- 
stant use  of  all  he  has  in  carrying  forward  the 
work  of  God.  Good  common  sense  leads  the 
preacher  to  lay  his  plans  with  much  thought 
and  wisdom.  At  least  he  will  be  careful  to 
take  the  choicest  part  of  the  year  for  his  revival 
services,  and  insist  that  other  things  shall  yield 
the  right  of  way  to  the  supreme  work  of  the 
church.  Then  the  preacher  will  try  to  know 
the  people,  and  will  study  their  peculiar  ways, 
habits,  and  notions,  and  not  try  to  compel  ab- 
ject submission  to  his  opinions  and  dictates. 
Usually  the  most  and  best  service  can  be  se- 
cured when  men  who  do  the  work  have  an  idea 
that  they  are  taken  into  kindly  and  confidential 
relations  with  the  pastor  in  his  planning  for  a 
revival  campaign.  Then,  the  pastor  must  not 
fret,  or  fume,  or  worry;  for  if  he  does  he  will 
find  the  church  will  partake  of  the  same  style, 
and  will  become  utterly  balky. 

It  will  need  but  a  moment's  thought  to  see 
that  the  conditions  just  suggested  are  not 
spontaneous.  They  result  from  well-known 
and  appreciable  causes.  Revival  persistency 
first  of  all  depends  upon  the  personal  religious 
experience  of  the  pastor.  Revivals  have  taken 
42 


Revival  Persistency 

place  and  souls  have  been  converted  under  the 
labors  of  backslidden  and  wicked  men;  but 
even  such  men  may  preach  the  truth,  and  such 
truth  has  produced  fruit.  This  will  not  in  any 
degree  militate  against  the  idea  that  a  wholly 
consecrated  man,  filled  with  the  Spirit  and 
living  a  holy  life,  is  a  more  suitable  agent 
through  whom  the  unsaved  may  be  brought  to 
Christ.  With  such  an  experience  let  the  pastor 
go  about  his  work  as  the  hand  of  Providence 
shall  point  out  the  way.  The  people  must  be 
visited,  and  direct  personal  effort  must  be  em- 
ployed. If  the  people  are  well  call  on  them, 
if  they  are  sick  call  on  them  all  the  more,  and 
this  work  should  be  done  in  a  systematic  and 
thorough  manner,  and  it  will  be  so  done  by 
every  faithful  pastor.  Let  him  persist;  the 
people  will  be  well  after  a  while,  and  then  cir- 
cumstances will  be  favorable.  It  may  be  that 
some  members  of  the  official  board  are  not  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  movement;  they  are 
frozen  Christians.  Let  the  preacher  persist; 
the  sun  will  melt  mountains  of  ice,  if  it  has 
time  and  opportunity.  It  may  be  that  a  sudden 
quarrel  arises  in  the  choir,  and  harps  by  the 
dozen  are  hung  upon  the  willows,  and  the 
singers  will  not  come  up  to  the  help  of 
43 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

the  Lord.  Very  well.  ^'Let  those  refuse  to 
sing  who  never  knew  our  God;"  but  be  it 
known  that  a  genuine  revival  is  not  made 
up  of  singing.  Let  the  preacher  persist, 
singing  or  no  singing.  It  may  be  that  vari- 
ous distractions  altogether  unexpected  and 
not  in  any  way  helpful  may  arise,  and  there  is 
the  danger  that  the  attention  of  the  people 
may  be  diverted.  Never  mind;  the  preacher 
has  steady  faith,  and  steady  faith  means  steady 
salvation.  Let  the  preacher  persist,  and  the 
work  will  go  on;  for  "it  is  not  by  might  nor 
by  power"  that  revival  services  are  to  be  sus- 
tained, but  by  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
upon  saints  and  sinners;  and  this  grace  comes 
in  answer  to  real,  believing  prayer  which  goes 
up  to  the  throne  from  consecrated  and  baptized 
souls. 

Revival  persistency!  That  does  not  neces- 
sarily mean  that  ten  or  a  dozen  services  should 
be  held  weekly  for  six  months  without  inter- 
ruption; but  it  does  mean  that  when  once  wise- 
ly planned  revival  services  have  been  com- 
menced they  should  be  steadily  continued  until 
crowned  with  victory,  or  a  clear  providential 
indication  points  to  their  termination. 
44 


CHAPTER   VI 
Evangelistic    PreacKing 


CHAPTER  VI 
Evangelistic  Preaching 

Shall  I,  for  fear  of  feeble  man, 
The  Spirit's  course  in  me  restrain? 
Or,  undismayed  in  deed  and  word, 
Be  a  true  witness  of  my  Lord? 

Awed  by  a  mortal's  frown,  shall  I 
Conceal  the  word  of  God  most  high? 
How  then  before  thee  shall  I  dare 
To  stand,  or  how  thine  anger  bear? 

Shall  I,  to  soothe  the  unholy  throng. 
Soften  thy  truth,  or  smooth  my  tongue, 
To  gain  earth's  gilded  toys,  or  flee 
The  cross  endured,  my  Lord,  by  thee? 

Trans,  by  John  Wesley. 

Arise,  go  into  Nineveh,  that  great  city,  and  preach 
unto  it  the  preaching  that  I  bid  thee. — Jonah  iii,  2. 

Son  of  man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watchman  unto  the 
house  of  Israel :  therefore  hear  the  word  at  my  mouth, 
and  give  them  warning  from  me. — Ezek.  iii,  17. 

Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature.  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned. — 
Mark  xvi,  15,  16. 

To  evangelize  is  "to  instruct  in  the  Gospel; 

to  preach  the  Gospel;  to  convert  to  a  belief  in 

the  Gospel."    All  this  may  be  done  by  pen,  or 

word  of  mouth,  or  by  a  holy  life.     In  La 

47 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

Rochelle,  which  for  many  years  was  a  strong- 
hold of  the  Huguenots,  there  is  an  ancient 
cathedral  whose  aisles  were  once  trodden  by 
the  bravest  men  and  saintliest  women.  As  one 
enters  he  may  see  at  the  right  a  magnificent 
window,  in  which  are  the  figures  of  an  apostle, 
life-size,  and  an  angel.  The  angel  has  in  his 
left  hand  a  long  trumpet,  and  in  his  right 
hand  an  open  book.  On  the  left-hand  page 
is  written,  ''Tuba  mirum  spar  gens  sonum/' 
and  on  the  opposite  page  is  written,  ''Liber 
scriptus  prof  ere  tur."  The  interpretation  is 
manifest.  The  written  book,  the  Bible,  which 
reveals  the  will  of  God  and  makes  known  the 
plan  of  redemption  and  salvation,  shall  be  pub- 
lished; but  it  is  the  Gospel  trumpet  that  scat- 
ters the  joyful  news,  the  wonderful  news,  the 
glad  sound,  far  and  wide  over  all  the  earth. 
The  evangelist  must  be  more  than  a  writer, 
more  than  a  teacher,  more  than  a  book;  he 
must  be  the  living  incarnation  of  Gospel  truth, 
and  he  must  translate  his  life  into  words  aflame 
with  love  and  compel  the  attention  of  toiling, 
suffering,  dying,  despairing  men  and  women, 
until  they  shall  come  out  of  the  regions  of  the 
shadow  of  death  into  the  light  and  liberty  of 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  God. 
48 


Evangelistic  Preaching 

Every  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
spirit  and  purpose  should  be  an  evangelist. 
The  Master  was  an  evangelist.  The  supreme 
evidence  of  his  divinity  v^as,  not  that  he  gave 
sight  to  the  blind,  strength  and  soundness  to 
the  lame,  cleansing  to  the  lepers,  hearing  to  the 
deaf,  and  life  to  the  dead,  but  that  he  preached 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor — that  he  evangelized. 
In  truth,  he  was  a  restless,  itinerant  evangelist; 
for  he  went  about  all  Galilee,  ''teaching  in  their 
synagogues,  and  preaching  the  Gospel  of  the 
kingdom,"  and,  incidentally,  "healing  all  man- 
ner of  sickness  and  all  manner  of  disease 
among  the  people."  Almost  at  the  instant 
when  he  was  taken  up  from  the  earth  and  a 
cloud  received  him  out  of  the  sight  of  his  as- 
tonished followers,  he  said,  "Go  ye,  therefore, 
and  teach  all  nations;"  "Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture;" "And  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me, 
both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the 
earth."  These  words  of  the  risen  Christ  ought 
to  inspire  every  loyal  heart  with  an  all-con- 
suming desire  to  spread  abroad  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth  and  win  this  world  back  to  its 
rightful  allegiance.  When  these  words  take 
(4)  49 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

possession  of  the  soul,  then  we  know  what 
Paul,  the  great  evangelist  to  the  nations,  meant 
when  he  said,  "Yea,  doubtless,  and  I  count  all 
things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord : . .  . .  that  I  may 
know  him,  and  the  power  of  his  resurrection, 
and  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,  being 
made  comfortable  unto  his  death."  Hence,  if 
we  study  the  example  and  commands  of  the 
Lord  Jesus^  if  we  study  the  thought  and  spirit 
of  Paul,  we  must  be  impressed  with  the  idea 
that,  so  long  as  there  are  careless  souls  to  be 
aroused,  penitents  to  be  confronted,  and  saints 
to  be  instructed  and  encouraged,  there  will  be 
needed  a  ministry  that  is  thoroughly  evangel- 
istic. 

The  conditions  of  every  age  are  peculiar. 
The  first  century  of  the  Christian  era  had 
scarcely  anything  in  common  with  the  opening 
of  the  twentieth  century.  Then  there  was  but 
one  nation.  Rome  was  everything.  Rome 
claimed  dominion  from  the  Hebrides  to  the 
Sahara,  from  the  pillars  of  Hercules  to  the 
banks  of  the  Indus.  The  empire  was  magnifi- 
cent, irresistible,  and  supposed  to  be  eternal. 
Christians  were  few  in  numbers,  humble  in 
rank,  powerless  in  politics,  despised  by  the 
50 


Evangelistic  Preaching 

learned,  persecuted  by  tyrants,  and  scattered 
here  and  there  uncertain  of  the  future.  To- 
day the  nominal  Christians  of  the  world  num- 
ber half  a  billion — a  third  of  its  entire  popula- 
tion. Christian  nations  control  all  things  by 
sea  and  land.  There  is  no  terra  incognita. 
Even  Africa  has  been  explored  and  is  being 
rapidly  apportioned  among  the  Christian  na- 
tions of  Europe.  Men  fly  from  country  to 
country  as  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  they 
send  their  thoughts  around  the  world  with  a 
speed  that  well-nigh  outstrips  the  light. 
Everybody  in  Christendom  may  know  every 
morning  at  the  breakfast  table,  or  every  even- 
ing at  the  supper  table,  most  of  the  principal 
events  that  have  taken  place  in  the  preceding 
twenty-four  hours  in  all  the  lands  between  the 
frozen  circles  of  the  North  and  the  South.  We 
are  neighbors  by  propinquity  to  everybody. 
There  are  no  hermit  nations;  there  are  no  som- 
nolent peoples.  The  rush  of  events  has  awak- 
ened the  whole  mass  of  humanity.  If  there  are 
comparatively  few  great  and  all-embracing 
scholars  there  are  uncounted  millions  who 
know  more  or  less  about  men  and  things,  about 
the  past  and  present,  about  matters  with  which 
they  ought  to  be  familiar,  and  equally  about 
SI 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

those  they  would  do  well  to  ignore  and  forget 
forever.  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  in  regard 
to  the  perils  surrounding  the  Christian  faith. 
There  is  no  longer  persecution  that  involves 
the  loss  of  liberty,  possessions,  or  life.  We 
have  freedom  almost  everywhere  to  worship 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  our  own  con- 
sciences. But  none  the  less  are  there  manifest 
efforts  to  undermine  the  foundations  upon 
which  Christianity  has  been  built;  a  persistent, 
malicious  determination  in  every  way  to  set 
aside  the  authority  of  the  Bible;  a  specious  or 
virulent  antagonism  to  the  claims  of  the  Lord 
Jesus;  a  calm,  quiet,  invulnerable  indifference; 
and  an  intense  devotion  and  slavery  to  fame, 
fashion,  wealth,  pleasure,  and  all  worldliness 
and  sin.  To  compare  the  conditions  of  1900 
and  those  of  the  year  100,  in  not  a  few  respects 
it  will  appear  that  the  opposing  forces,  the 
enemies  of  Christianity,  are  as  formidable  now 
as  then. 

There  is  one  fundamental  fact  we  must  al- 
ways remember.  Humanity  itself,  in  all  essen- 
tials, is  always  the  same.  This  is  true  of  all 
the  races  now  living.  It  always  has  been  true, 
and  always  will  be  true.  The  ideas  of  ought 
not  and  ought,  of  sin  and  penalty,  of  God  and 
52 


Evangelistic  Preaching 

responsibility,  are  thoroughly  ingrained  in  the 
nature  of  man.  They  are  found  in  all  lands; 
they  cannot  be  obliterated.  It  is  equally  true 
that  souls  everywhere  desire  and  long  to  be 
delivered  from  the  burden — may  we  not  say 
from  the  guilt,  the  pollution,  and  the  power  ? — 
of  sin.  Human  souls  are  not  orphaned,  they 
are  not  outcast,  they  are  not  forgotten.  God 
has  them  in  mind,  and  his  love  flows  out  to  all, 
and  he  will  surely  be  found  by  those  who  feel 
after  him.  Human  hearts  are  hungry  for  pity, 
compassion,  sympathy,  love.  This  hunger  is 
just  as  natural  and  just  as  universal  as  the 
hunger  of  the  body;  and  is  it  not  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  some  provision  should  be  made  to 
satisfy  this  heart-hunger?  The  very  existence 
of  hunger  proves  that  somewhere  there  must 
be  an  adequate  supply  of  what  is  needed  to 
appease  the  inevitable  longings  of  the  deathless 
spirit.  The  one  sufficient,  supreme,  divine 
remedy  for  all  ills,  whether  of  individuals  or 
of  humanity,  is  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God, 
for  it  is  the  infinite,  omnipotent,  all-efficient 
power  of  God,  the  eternal  and  ever-blessed 
heavenly  Father  whose  name  is  Love,  unto  sal- 
vation— salvation  of  soul  and  body,  for  time 
and  eternity — to  everyone,  of  every  race  and 
53 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

nation,  that  believeth.  The  remedy  is  brought 
within  the  reach  of  everyone,  and  it  may  be 
obtained  upon  conditions  that  may  easily  be 
compHed  with  by  all. 

We  need  to  remember  always  that  the  Gos- 
pel is  complex  and  comprehensive.  There  is 
much  more  to  it  than  is  embraced  in  that  puerile 
proverb,  "Be  good  and  you  will  be  happy." 
When  it  is  assumed  that  such  a  proverb  covers 
the  case  we  relegate  the  Gospel  to  the  low 
standard  of  Confucius  and  Mencius.  There 
must  be  the  foundation  of  good  conduct  in  the 
intelligent  apprehension  of  truth;  and  so  the 
Gospel  implies  the  search  for  truth.  The  Gos- 
pel has  its  greatest  triumphs  in  such  intellects 
as  those  of  Paul  and  Newton  and  Wesley.  The 
Lord  recognized  the  use  of  the  intellect  when 
he  said,  ''Search  the  Scriptures;  for  in  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  life;  and  they  are  they 
which  testify  of  me."  And  the  use  of  the  in- 
tellect in  the  consideration  of  the  Gospel  is 
commended  in  that  memorable  passage  where 
it  is  said,  "These  were  more  noble  than  those 
in  Thessalonica,  in  that  they  received  the  word 
with  all  readiness  of  mind,  and  searched  the 
Scriptures  daily,  whether  those  things  were 
so."  But  the  Gospel  requires  faith  and  belief, 
54 


Evangelistic  Preaching 

because  there  are  depths  and  heights  of  divine 
wisdom  that  can  never  be  fully  grasped  by  the 
human  understanding,  and  because  human 
reason  may  not  be  able  to  perfectly  adjust  all 
the  relations  of  revealed  truth.  'Tor  we  walk 
by  faith,  not  by  sight." 
55 


CHAPTER  VII 
Doctrinal    Preaching 


CHAPTER  VII 
Doctrinal  Preaching 

We  all  believe  in  one  true  God, 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
Strong  Deliverer  in  our  need. 

Praised  by  all  the  heavenly  host, 
By  whose  mighty  power  alone 
All  is  made,  and  wrought,  and  done. 

And  we  believe  in  Jesus  Christ, 

Son  of  man  and  Son  of  God ; 
Who,  to  raise  us  up  to  heaven. 

Left  his  throne  and  bore  our  load; 
By  whose  cross  and  death  are  we 
Rescued  from  our  misery. 

And  we  confess  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Who  from  both  forever  flows; 

Who  upholds  and  comforts  us 
In  the  midst  of  fears  and  woes. 

Blest  and  holy  Trinity, 

Praise  shall  aye  be  brought  to  thee! 

Trans,  by  Miss  C.  Winkworth. 

For  precept  must  be  upon  precept,  precept  upon  pre- 
cept; line  upon  line,  line  upon  line;  here  a  little,  and 
there  a  little. — Isa.  xxviii,  lo. 

Till  I  come,  give  attendance  to  reading,  to  exhorta- 
tion, to  doctrine. — i  Tim.  iv,  13. 

Holding  fast  the  faithful  word  as  he  hath  been  taught, 
59 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

that  he  may  be  able  by  sound  doctrine  both  to  exhort 
and  to  convince  the  gainsayers. — Titus  i,  9. 

If  any  man  teach  otherwise,  and  consent  not  to  whole- 
some words,  even  the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  the  doctrine  which  is  according  to  godliness ;  he 
is  proud,  knowing  nothing,  but  doting  about  questions 
and  strifes  of  words,  whereof  cometh  envy,  strife,  rail- 
ings, evil  surmisings,  perverse  disputings  of  men  of 
corrupt  minds,  and  destitute  of  the  truth,  supposing 
that  gain  is  godliness:  from  such  withdraw  thyself. — 
I  Tim.  vi,  3-5. 

In  these  days  much  is  said  in  regard  to 
creeds,  as  though  they  were  of  the  least  possi- 
ble importance.  There  are  some  so-called 
Christian  ministers  who  evidently  think,  with 
the  unbelieving  poet,  that  a  man's  creed  must 
be  right  who  lives  a  respectable  and  decent 
life,  forgetting  the  restraining  power  that  men 
of  right  creeds  have  on  all  about  them.  The 
Gospel  is  a  creed — an  imperative,  intolerant, 
God-ordained  creed.  "He  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned."  These  are  the  words  of 
Jesus,  and  they  imply  the  existence  of  a  creed 
— of  something  to  be  believed.  Men  with  no 
moral  convictions  are  the  men  without  creeds. 
Men  who  excuse  sin  and  make  it  a  trivial  thing 
in  the  moral  imi verse  are  the  men  without 
creeds.  Men  who  think  God  is  careless,  indif- 
60 


Doctrinal  Preaching 

ferent,  oblivious  in  regard  to  the  violations  of 
the  divine  law  are  the  men  without  creeds. 
Men  who  make  myths  of  heaven  and  hell,  of 
the  resurrection  and  the  judgment,  are  the  men 
without  creeds.  The  men  who,  while  they 
maintain  the  appearance  of  respectability  and 
good  conduct,  are  yet  worldly,  self-indulgent, 
pleasure-seeking,  and  selfish,  are  the  men  with- 
out creeds.  Genuine  Christian  character  inde- 
pendent of  the  Christian  creed  is  well-nigh  im- 
possible. Jesus  -was  a  creed-maker.  Hear 
him:  ^'Ye  believe  in  God" — the  God  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  omniscient,  omnipresent,  om- 
nipotent, the  eternally  self-existing  God.  ''Ye 
believe  in  God" — the  lawmaker  and  adminis- 
trator of  the  material  and  moral  realms,  the 
watchful,  faithful,  loving  friend  of  all  men. 
This  faith  in  God  is  the  first  article  of  this 
creed.  And  the  second  is  like  unto  it :  ''Be- 
lieve also  in  me."  Believe  in  me  as  the 
Messiah,  whose  coming  has  been  foretold 
from  Genesis  to  Malachi;  in  me,  of  whom 
Moses  and  the  Psalms  and  the  prophets 
all  testify;  in  me,  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God,  the  I  Am  of  the  Old  Testament,  equal 
with  the  Father,  self-existent  from  all  eternity, 
the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  mankind.  The 
6i 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

Lord  Jesus  had  no  idea  of  character  without 
creed,  and  it  would  seem  that  there  must  be 
something  wrong  with  a  man's  head  or  heart 
who  inveighs  against  creeds. 

What  this  present  hour  needs  is  that  God's 
people  '^should  earnestly  contend  for  the  faith 
which  was  once  delivered  unto  the  saints.  For 
there  are  certain  men  crept  in  unawares,  who 
were  before  of  old  ordained  to  this  condemna- 
tion, ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  our 
God  into  lasciviousness,  and  denying  the  only 
Lord  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
Furthermore,  as  John  Wesley  says,  "we  are  to 
contend  earnestly,  yet  humbly,  meekly,  and 
lovingly,  for  the  faith,  for  all  fundamental 
truths,  once  delivered  by  God,  to  remain  un- 
varied forever."  This  is  no  time  for  laxity  and 
latitudinarianism.  The  imperative  duty  of 
this  eventful  hour  is  to  refuse  to  waver  "like  a 
wave  of  the  sea  driven  with  the  wind  and 
tossed."  "For  we  are  made  partakers  of 
Christ,  if  we  hold  the  beginning  of  our  confi- 
dence steadfast  unto  the  end,"  "till  we  all  come 
in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of 
Christ:  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more  chil- 
62 


Doctrinal  Preaching 

dren,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with 
every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men, 
and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in 
wait  to  deceive."  These,  and  such  as  these, 
are  men  with  creeds,  and  they  are  the  men  to 
stand  up  against  the  tide  of  irreligion,  unbelief, 
and  carelessness  of  God  and  his  truth  that 
wrathfully  or  insidiously  would  undermine  the 
bulwarks  of  our  faith  and  hope.  A  ministry 
that  is  really  and  truly  evangelistic  will  stand 
upon  this  ground,  and  under  all  circumstances 
will  proclaim  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Such 
a  ministry  will  not  spend  its  time  in  apologiz- 
ing for  the  truth  or  in  simply  defending  the 
truth ;  but,  rather,  it  will  stand  out  boldly,  take 
the  aggressive,  and  be  ready  always  "with  all 
faithful  diligence  to  banish  and  drive  away  all 
erroneous  and  strange  doctrines  contrary  to 
God's  word."  There  can  be  no  possible  substi- 
tutes for  such  methods  and  for  such  a  ministry. 
The  more  pronounced,  definite,  evangelical,  ex- 
perimentally practical,  and  biblical  are  the 
views  of  the  minister,  the  more  evangelistic 
will  he  be  and  the  better  adapted  to  all  the  ex- 
igencies of  these  extraordinary  times. 

We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  great  truth 
that  the  Gospel,  while  it  involves  the  use  of  the 
63 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

intellect,  even  the  highest  powers  of  the  great- 
est intellect,  and  while  it  requires  a  definite 
creed  based  on  the  word  of  God,  also  takes 
cognizance  of  the  affectional  nature  of  man. 
"With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteous- 
ness; and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made 
unto  salvation."  The  ideal  of  some  people  with 
superficial  culture  and  timid  natures  is  that  a 
Christian  should  be  a  bit  of  ice — clear  ice,  it 
may  be,  but  devoid  of  emotions.  They  have 
not  the  remotest  appreciation  of  the  experi- 
ences of  Jesus  and  John  and  Paul,  or  of  the 
unnumbered  millions  of  holy  souls  that  have 
ached  and  throbbed  and  agonized  for  sinners 
in  danger  of  eternal  doom,  and  have  exulted 
and  sung  and  shouted  over  victories  won.  To 
live  without  emotion,  to  suppress  all  manifes- 
tations of  love  and  joy,  to  be  good  without  a 
creed,  to  be  a  proper,  impossible  thing  instead 
of  a  sympathetic  soul,  to  be  a  polished  marble 
statue  instead  of  a  living  man,  seems  to  be  the 
height  of  possible  attainment.  These  are  the  peo- 
ple who  would  have  driven  the  Syrophenician 
woman  away  from  Christ;  who  would  have 
sent  the  man  home  from  his  neighbor's  house 
without  bread;  who  would  have  stood  by  the 
grave  of  Lazarus  with  never  a  sigh  heaving  the 
64 


Doctrinal  Preaching 

breast,  or  a  quiver  on  the  lip,  or  a  tear  brim- 
ming the  eyes.  These  are  the  people  who 
would  not  have  rejoiced  with  the  woman  who 
found  her  lost  money,  or  with  the  man  who 
found  his  wandering  sheep,  or  with  the  father 
of  the  prodigal  when  his  poor,  wayward,  sin- 
ning boy  came  home.  Thank  God,  the  Gospel 
is  complex  and  comprehensive,  meets  the 
wants  of  all  men,  and  appeals  to  all  the 
powers,  capabilities,  and  faculties  of  our  na- 
tures. It  is  not  a  poor,  one-sided,  unsym- 
metrical,  deformed  thing,  like  a  post  in  the 
ground  to  which  young  twigs  are  tied  to  keep 
them  straight;  it  is  an  inspiration,  an  influ- 
ence, an  energy,  an  attraction,  a  divine  mani- 
festation of  truth,  pity,  compassion,  love,  com- 
bined with  omniscient  power  for  the  uplift  of 
the  soul  and  the  salvation  of  the  race. 
(5)  65 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Blind    Leaders    of   tHe    Blind 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Blind  Leaders  of  the  Blind 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 

His  wonders  to  perform; 
He  plants  his  footsteps  in  the  sea, 

And  rides  upon  the  storm. 

Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err, 

And  scan  his  work  in  vain: 
God  is  his  own  interpreter, 

And  he  will  make  it  plain. 

—William  Cow  per. 

Thou  shalt  not  curse  the  deaf,  nor  put  a  stumbling- 
block  before  the  blind,  but  shalt  fear  thy  God:  I  am 
the  Lord.— Lev.  xix,  14. 

Cursed  be  he  that  maketh  the  blind  to  wander  out  of 
the  way:  and  all  the  people  shall   say,  Amen.— Deut. 

xxvii,  18.  ,     1    r  11 

Can  the  blind  lead  the  blind?  shall  they  not  both  fall 

into  the  ditch?— Luke  vi,  39- 

The  fact  that  the  Gospel  is  such  as  has  now 
been  indicated  does  not  imply  that  all  clergy- 
men are  evangelistic,  or  that  all  the  clergymen 
of  any  one  denomination  are  evangelistic.  We 
need  not  search  closely  in  order  to  find  those 
who  are  ranked  as  Christian  ministers  who 
69 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

have  very  little  sympathy  with  the  evangelistic 
spirit.  There  are  quite  a  few,  taking  all  clergy- 
men into  account,  who  make  but  little  use  of 
the  Gospel  in  their  ministrations.  They  know 
Shakespeare  better  than  they  know  the  Bible; 
they  are  more  familiar  with  the  heathen  poets 
than  with  the  Psalms;  they  are  more  earnest 
readers  of  the  novels  of  the  day  than  of  the 
epistles  of  Paul.  They  pride  themselves  on 
their  scholarly  attainments,  and  are  never  so 
well  pleased  as  when  they  are  recognized  as 
belonging  to  the  literary  class.  Their  sermons 
are  essays;  their  themes  are  poetical,  fanciful, 
impractical.  The  people  listen,  and  if  they  re- 
ceive any  impression  it  will  be  expressed  by 
''How  beautiful!  how  soothing!"  These 
preachers  have  little  use  for  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments or  the  Lord's  Sermon  on  the 
Mount;  and  the  ethics  of  the  Bible  is  too  exact- 
ing and  severe  to  command  their  attention  or 
challenge  an  honest  effort  to  fulfill  its  require- 
ments. Such  preachers  are  blind  leaders  of  the 
blind,  if,  indeed,  they  have  enough  of  plan  or 
purpose  to  lead  anybody.  Duty,  conscience, 
retribution,  eternity,  cross-bearing,  Christ-fol- 
lowing are  all  ignored.  If  the  intellect  is  gen- 
tly agitated,  if  the  aesthetic  nature  is  slightly 
70 


Blind  Leaders  of  the  Blind 

stimulated,  if  an  indefinite  hope  of  future  good 
and  eternal  well-being  is  faintly  produced,  it  is 
about  all  that  is  anticipated  or  expected.  It 
would  be  well  for  the  Church  and  the  world 
if  such  preachers,  when  they  pass  off  the  stage 
of  action  or  inaction,  might  leave  no  suc- 
cessors. They  are  cumberers  of  the  ground — 
barren  fig  trees.  They  are  not  evangelistic, 
and  they  have  no  desire  to  be.  If  Christianity 
had  to  depend  upon  them  for  continuance  and 
vitality  it  would  practically  die  out  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  generations.  We  need 
a  ministry  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  of  the  head, 
a  ministry  that  will  appeal  to  all  the  God-given 
faculties  of  the  emotional  nature,  and  so  win 
men  to  that  service  which  is  perfect  freedom 
and  to  that  joy  which  is  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory.  The  human  heart  is  a  harp  of  a  thou- 
sand strings,  and  we  need  a  ministry  that  can 
sweep  with  loving  touch  all  chords  and  stir  the 
whole  being.  An  evangelistic  ministry,  warm- 
hearted, full-souled,  loving,  brotherly,  can  do 
this;  and  no  other  can.  Such  a  ministry  was 
never  more  needed  than  now. 

Then  we  have  a  class  of  ministers  who  never 
forget  the  mint,  anise,  and  cumin,  like  those  of 
whom  we  read  in  the  New  Testament  who, 
71 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

laying  aside  the  commandments  of  God,  gave 
themselves  with  all  diligence  to  the  frequent 
washing  of  their  hands  and  of  pots  and  cups 
and  tables  and  brazen  vessels.  They  are  taken 
up  with  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  think  more 
of  posture  and  dress,  of  bookstands  and  altars, 
of  robes  and  mantles,  of  candles  and  crucifixes, 
of  censers  and  incense,  of  ordinations  and  his- 
toric fables,  of  rituals  and  church  authority, 
than  they  do  of  the  great  and  eternal  truths  of 
God's  word  and  a  holy  life.  The  letter  that 
killeth  is  everything  to  them,  while  the  spirit 
that  giveth  life  is  well-nigh  forgotten  or  buried 
without  the  hope  of  resurrection.  It  is  sad  but 
true,  as  the  history  of  the  ages  proves,  that  a 
ritualistic  ministry  is  not  qualified  to  represent 
a  living  Christ  or  to  do  the  work  which  a  wait- 
ing world  so  sadly  needs.  There  is  absolutely 
no  force,  no  power  for  good,  in  such  as  these; 
they  cannot  reclaim  this  world  and  bring  it 
back  to  God.  Under  their  leadership  the 
Church  will  drift  away  from  Christ  and  will 
become  frivolous,  worldly,  formal,  dead,  until 
at  last  Christ  will  say:  "I  have  somewhat 
against  thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first 
love.  Remember  therefore  from  whence  thou 
art  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  works; 

72 


Blind  Leaders  of  the  Blind 

or  else  I  will  come  unto  thee  quickly,  and  will 
remove  thy  candlestick  out  of  his  place,  except 
thou  repent." 

Besides  these  two  classes  of  ministers  just 
mentioned  we  have  a  third.  They  are  not 
found  in  large  numbers  in  the  evangelical 
Churches,  though  here  and  there  one  may  be 
found;  they  abound  in  the  so-called  liberal 
Churches;  they  are  in  this  country  and  Eng- 
land and  on  the  Continent.  It  would  be  some- 
what difficult  to  mention  a  name  that  would 
exactly  describe  them.  They  commonly  as- 
sume to  be  "advanced  thinkers,"  "progressive 
theologians,"  "higher  critics,"  "profound 
scholars,"  "abreast-of-the-age,  up-to-date  in- 
vestigators of  all  knowledge."  They  are  really 
flavored  with  Renan,  Strauss,  Baur,  Wellhau- 
sen,  with  a  lingering  trace  of  Astruc,  Voltaire, 
Paine,  and  Spinoza.  They  know  better  than 
all  the  Jews,  and  all  the  evangelical  historical 
students  of  all  ages,  who  wrote  the  Pentateuch 
and  Joshua  and  the  Psalms  and  Isaiah  and 
Daniel.  They  are  very  largely  given  to  evolv- 
ing their  knowledge  from  their  own  inner  con- 
sciousness. They  seem  to  lack  sincerity,  mod- 
esty, honesty,  and  candor.  When  they  finish 
their  work  on  the  Holy  Scriptures  there  is  little 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

left  but  a  v^reck.  They  eliminate  prophecies, 
especially  those  concerning  Christ;  they  throve 
out  everything  that  is  supernatural ;  they  make 
the  authors  of  some  of  the  most  v^onderful  and 
magnificent  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  to 
be  unknown,  unnamed,  and  unheard-of  men, 
who  lived  a  thousand  years  after  Moses  and 
are  supposed  to  have  been  among  the  exiles  of 
Babylon.  The  work  done  by  these  destructive, 
rationalistic,  arrogant  critics  would  be  bad 
enough  if  confined  to  the  Old  Testament;  but, 
if  possible,  the  destruction  they  make  of  the 
New  is  still  worse.  They  degrade  Christ;  they 
will  not  tolerate  the  idea  of  miracles;  they 
seem  to  have  a  virulent  hatred  of  what  is  spir- 
itual and  supernatural.  Whatever  these  people 
may  call  themselves,  whatever  in  their  pride  of 
scholarship  and  opinion  they  may  assume  to 
be,  there  is  one  name  they  ought  to  be  com- 
pelled to  wear.  They  are  destructive  rational- 
ists. They  exalt  human  reason  to  a  dizzy 
height,  and  then  bow  before  its  dictates.  Un- 
broken, unimpeached  history,  that  goes  back 
for  thousands  of  years,  has  no  weight  with 
them.  They  make  a  Babel  of  their  discussions, 
for  no  two  of  them  agree;  they  have  added  but 
little,  if  any,  additional  light  of  research  and 
74 


Blind  Leaders  of  the  Blind 

scholarship  to  that  already  in  possession  of 
evangelical,  historical,  theological  students. 
They  are  destructive  to  the  last  degree,  for  the 
natural  and  logical  outcome  of  their  teachings 
must  be  the  loss  of  all  faith  in  the  Bible  as  the 
word  of  God.  Good  men  may  be  deluded  by 
these  destructives  and  still  hold  on  to  their 
goodness;  converted  men  to  some  extent  may 
be  drawn  away  by  the  babblings  of  these  de- 
structives and  yet  hold  on  to  their  hope  in 
Christ;  but  the  inevitable  tendency  of  this 
destructive  rationalism  is  toward  deism  and 
atheism.  It  is  a  cause  of  unspeakable  regret 
that  any  man  holding  these  views  should  be 
tolerated  in  any  evangelical  pulpit  or  school  of 
theology,  for  the  ultimate  outcome  will  be  as 
baleful  as  the  exhalations  of  the  deadly  upas 
tree. 

75 


CHAPTER    IX 

Ambassadors     from    Heaven's 
Court 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Ambassadors  from  Heaven's  Court 

Go  forth,  ye  heralds,  in  My  name, 
Sweetly  the  Gospel  trumpet  sound; 

The  glorious  jubilee  proclaim. 
Where'er  the  human  race  is  found. 

The  joyful  news  to  all  impart. 

And  teach  them  where  salvation  lies ; 

With  care  bind  up  the  broken  heart, 
And  wipe  the  tears  from  weeping  eyes. 

— John  Logan. 

For  the  priest's  lips  should  keep  knowledge,  and  they 
should  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth :  for  he  is  the  messen- 
ger of  the  Lord  of  hosts. — Mai.  ii,  7. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor;  he  hath 
sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliver- 
ance to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the 
blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to  preach 
the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord. — Luke  iv,  18,  19. 

Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though 
God  did  beseech  you  by  us :  we  pray  you  in  Christ's 
stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. — 2  Cor.  v,  20. 

In  contrast  to  certain  classes  of  so-called 
clergymen,    or   ministers,    it   affords   supreme 
satisfaction  to  know  that  we  have  an  evan- 
gelical and  evangelistic  ministry.     They  are 
79 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

not  all  found  in  any  one  Church.  They 
are  in  every  Church  v^here  the  name  of 
Jesus  is  held  in  reverence  as  that  of  the 
second  person  in  the  adorable  Trinity,  v^here 
he  is  loved  and  worshiped,  where  he  is 
known  as  the  all-atoning  Lamb  of  God.  This 
evangelistic  ministry  does  not  despise,  much 
less  ignore,  sound  learning  or  the  thorough 
cultivation  of  the  intellect;  for  it  believes  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  man  with  the  best 
brain  and  most  carefully  and  wisely  trained  is 
the  best  evangelist.  Nor  does  it  undervalue, 
much  less  pour  contempt  on,  creeds.  It  holds 
to  the  Bible,  first,  last,  and  always,  as  the 
source  of  all  truth  essential  to  salvation;  but 
at  the  same  time  it  claims  a  part  in  the  heritage 
of  the  ages  and  takes  the  Apostles'  Creed  as  a 
wise  and  helpful  formulation  of  doctrine.  It 
has  a  hope,  and  is  ready  and  able  to  declare 
the  reason  for  it.  It  believes,  and  therefore  it 
speaks.  Its  faith  is  **the  substance  of  things 
hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen."  It 
believes  the  whole  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews. 
It  believes  in  the  inspiration  and  authority  of  all 
the  Scriptures.  It  believes  in  the  supernatural, 
in  miracles,  in  the  absolute  divinity  of  Jesus, 
in  his  atonement,  resurrection,  and  ascension 
80 


Ambassadors  from  Heaven's  Court 

to  the  right  hand  of  God.  It  beHeves  in  the 
resurrection,  in  the  judgment,  in  immortality, 
in  heaven  and  hell.  It  believes  that  every  peni- 
tent soul  may  come  to  God  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  find  pardon,  life,  and  salva- 
tion. It  believes  that  the  time  is  coming  when 
"the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  as  the  water  covers 
the  sea;"  and  in  this  faith  it  expects  the  Gospel 
to  spread  abroad  until  the  last  son  of  Adam 
shall  hear  the  joyful  sound. 

If  ever  there  was  a  time  when  such  a 
ministry,  with  such  a  faith,  was  needed  it 
is  now.  Christ  has  told  us  that  the  time 
is  coming  when  ''there  shall  be  signs  in  the 
sun,  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the  stars;  and 
upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations,  with  per- 
plexity; the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring; 
men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for 
looking  after  those  things  which  are  coming 
on  the  earth."  No  mightier  problems  ever 
confronted  Christianity  than  at  this  hour. 
What  are  we  to  do  with  labor  and  capital? 
What  with  the  corruptions  of  society?  What 
with  the  venality  of  statesmen  and  legislators  ? 
What  with  the  worship  of  wealth  and  power? 
What  with  the  wronged  and  oppressed  in  this 
(6)  8i 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

land  and  all  lands?  What  with  the  vast 
masses  of  the  illiterate  of  Christendom  ?  What 
with  the  hordes  of  tramps  and  the  vile,  dan- 
gerous classes?  What  with  the  poor  of  the 
great  cities?  What  with  the  waste  of  naval 
and  military  armament  ?  What  with  the  awful 
drink  habit  and  the  fearfully  malignant  and 
curseful  drink  traffic?  What  with  the  uncon- 
verted, unenlightened,  unevangelized  thousand 
millions  of  heathenism? 

Surely  such  a  condition  of  affairs  as  is  re- 
vealed by  these  questions  may  well  appall  the 
stoutest  heart  and  try  the  stanchest  faith.  The 
supreme  hope  of  the  world  is  in  a  genuine,  cul- 
tured, believing,  rejoicing,  evangelistic  minis- 
try. Such  a  ministry  can  answer  questions  and 
resolve  doubts;  can  state,  explain,  defend  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  when  formulated  into 
creeds;  can  exemplify  the  blessed,  joyous,  con- 
scious experience  of  a  personal  salvation.  This 
world  is  not  to  be  won  to  Christ  en  masse.  From 
this  time  on  it  is  to  be  hand-to-hand  work.  The 
ministry  is  the  divinely  appointed  leadership  of 
the  people.  If  the  ministry  is  evangelistic  the 
people  will  be  the  same.  And  when  the  Church 
and  ministry  are  both  evangelistic  all  barriers 
to  the  progress  of  the  cause  of  Christ  will  be 
82 


Ambassadors  from  Heaven's  Court 

removed,  the  great  and  pressing  questions  that 
demand  attention  will  be  solved,  the  Gospel 
message  will  be  carried  to  all  lands,  and  the 
morning  of  the  millennium  will  be  hastened  in 
Its  coming.  Why  may  it  not  become  the  all- 
absorbing  desire  of  every  minister  to  enter 
with  all  his  soul  upon  evangelistic  work,  which 
includes  the  enlightenment  and  conversion  of 
sinners  and  the  building  up  of  all  converts  in 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel  ?  In  order  to  this  there 
must  be  entire  consecration  of  all  that  is  ever 
called  "my"  or  "mine;"  a  devotement  of  all 
powers  to  the  service  of  the  Master;  a  seeking 
for  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  purity, 
inspiration,  and  service,  until  the  gift  is  be- 
stowed; a  holy,  blameless  life;  and  ceaseless 
toil  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men. 
That  God  may  give  the  Churches  and  the 
world  an  evangelistic  ministry  ought  to  be  the 
ceaseless  prayer  of  every  loyal  Christian  heart. 
83 


CHAPTER  X 
Special    Helps    in    R.evivals 


CHAPTER  X 
Special  Helps  in  Revivals 

Go,  labor  on ;  spend  and  be  spent, 

Thy  joy  to  do  the  Father's  will ; 
It  is  the  way  the  Master  went ; 

Should  not  the  servant  tread  it  still? 

Toil  on,  and  in  thy  toil  rejoice; 

For  toil  comes  rest,  for  exile  home; 
Soon  shalt  thou  hear  the  Bridegroom's  voice, 

The  midnight  peal,  "Behold,  I  come !" 

— H.  Bonar. 

Has  thy  night  been  long  and  mournful? 

Have  thy  friends  unfaithful  proved? 
Have   thy    foes    been   proud   and    scornful, 

By  thy  sighs  and  tears  unmoved? 
Cease  thy  mourning; 

Zion  still  is  well  beloved. 

God,  thy  God,  will  now  restore  thee; 

He  himself  appears  thy  Friend; 
All  thy  foes  shall  flee  before  thee; 
Here  their  boasts  and  triumphs  end: 

Great  deliverance 
Zion's  King  will  surely  send. 

— Thomas  Kelly. 

But  let  every  man  prove  his  own  work,  and  then 
shall  he  have  rejoicing  in  himself  alone,  and  not  in  an- 
other.   For  every  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden. — Gal. 

vi,  4,  5. 

87 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

At  my  first  answer  no  man  stood  with  me,  but  all 
men  forsook  me.  .  .  .  Notwithstanding  the  Lord  stood 
with  me,  and  strengthened  me;  that  by  me  the  preach- 
ing might  be  fully  known,  and  that  all  the  Gentiles 
might  hear. — 2  Tim.  iv,  16,  17. 

The  pastor  v^rho  depends  on  special  helps  in 
revivals  makes  a  great  mistake.  It  results  un- 
favorably both  for  pastor  and  people.  It  is  a 
great  drawback  to  a  pastor's  influence  and  use- 
fulness if  the  churches  come  to  understand 
that  he  cannot  have  a  revival  without  special 
helps.  The  churches  come  to  look  on  such  a 
man  as  a  one-sided,  incomplete  pastor,  as  one 
incompetent  to  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry. 
As  soon  as  the  churches  take  this  view  of  a 
man  they  lose  to  a  very  large  degree  their  con- 
fidence in  him,  and  by  his  own  methods  he  has 
depreciated  his  own  value  and  raised  an  almost 
insurmountable  barrier  to  his  own  success. 
The  man  in  whom  the  churches  have  faith  and 
are  willing  to  follow,  and  gladly  and  thorough- 
ly sustain  in  every  way,  is  the  man  who  can  do 
his  own  preaching,  care  for  his  prayer  meet- 
ings, look  after  his  own  Epworth  League, 
direct  and  watch  over  his  own  Sunday  school, 
be  in  his  own  class  meetings,  take  charge  of 
his  own  altar  services,  do  his  own  pastoral 


Special  Helps  in  Revivals 

visiting,  carefully  and  systematically  train  his 
own  probationers,  and  make  his  own  church 
and  community  the  one  center  of  all  his 
thought  and  toil.  This  kind  of  a  man,  if  he 
have  a  fair  amount  of  common  sense,  and 
sweetness  of  disposition,  and  tact,  and  ability 
to  manage  men,  and  a  love  for  the  perishing, 
and  enjoys  religion,  and  has  faith  in  the  prom- 
ises of  God,  will  surely  and  naturally  develop 
the  supreme  quality  of  leadership;  he  will  com- 
mand the  cooperation  of  his  church  and  people, 
and  he  will  see  the  work  of  God  prosper  in  his 
hands.  He  will  not  need  to  depend  on  special 
helps  for  revival  work,  for  with  God's  blessing 
he  and  his  church  will  come  to  enjoy  a  peren- 
nial revival. 

And  who  will  venture  to  say  that  this  is  an 
impossible  ideal — that  there  are  no  such  pas- 
tors ?  If  there  are  not  plenty  of  them  it  is  not 
for  lack  of  natural  endowments,  not  for  lack  of 
unattainable  grace;  it  is  simply  and  solely  be- 
cause the  pastor  does  not  have  the  right  ideal 
before  his  mind,  and  is  not  willing  with  unre- 
served consecration  to  give  himself  wholly  to 
the  work  of  God;  and  because  he  will  not  take 
this  reasonable  ideal  and  day  and  night  strive 
to  realize  it  in  his  own  life  and  ministry.  There 
89 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

are  so  many — too  many  by  far — who  fall  into 
ruts  and  in  an  easy-going  way  perform  in  a 
routine  and  perfunctory  style  the  ordinary 
duties  of  the  profession.  Such  men  are  not 
wanted  by  the  churches,  they  are  of  little  profit 
to  them;  but  they  are  the  men  who,  if  they 
have  any  revivals,  must  depend  upon  special 
and  outside  helps  to  secure  them. 

But  bad  as  it  is  for  the  pastor  to  depend 
upon  these  special  helps,  it  is  far  w^orse  for  the 
church.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  anything  that 
can  more  thoroughly  weaken  the  faith,  quench 
the  zeal,  and  destroy  the  activity  of  a  church 
than  to  have  the  members  depend  upon  special 
help  to  carry  on  revival  work.  If  this  is  under- 
stood by  any  church  to  be  the  accepted  policy, 
then,  first  of  all,  the  average  church  member 
will  fold  his  arms  and  wait  for  the  usual  excite- 
ment, and  for  the  angel  to  come  along  from 
somewhere,  perhaps  from  heaven,  to  trouble 
the  waters.  Church  members  who  depend  on 
these  special  helps,  as  a  rule,  are  very  nearly 
good  for  nothing  for  regular  work.  Besides, 
they  lose  to  a  very  large  degree  their  sense  of 
personal  responsibility;  and  when  that  is  the 
case  with  a  Christian  man  or  woman,  then 
little  in  the  way  of  service  is  attempted  and 
90 


Special  Helps  in  Revivals 

less  is  accomplished.  It  is  so  easy  to  wait  for 
the  coming  of  special  help,  and  so  easy  to  ex- 
cuse one's  self  w^hen  it  is  known  that  somebody 
else  will  in  due  time  be  hired  to  do  the  work. 
It  is  death  to  any  church  to  lose  the  sense  of 
direct  personal  responsibility.  God  will  toler- 
ate few  of  the  excuses  that  may  be  offered. 
No  one  can  shift  to  another  the  responsibility 
that  properly  and  rightly  belongs  to  himself. 
All  Christendom,  and  our  Methodism  with  all 
the  rest,  suffers  because  of  shirking  personal 
responsibility.  And  what  better  calculated  to 
foster  and  encourage  this  than  dependence 
upon  special  helps  to  do  the  work  each  should 
himself  do  ? 

And,  still  further,  such  church  members  suf- 
fer a  spiritual  atrophy  in  all  their  faculties  and 
senses.  Their  hearts  become  ossified;  their 
eyes  are  dim  to  see  the  needs  of  a  sinning,  sor- 
rowing, dying  world;  their  feet  are  lame  and 
they  cannot  run  without  great  weariness;  their 
hands  are  hard  and  stiff  and  unsympathetic; 
there  is  no  thrill  of  Christian  helpfulness  about 
them.  O,  for  hearts  that  feel,  for  eyes  that 
see,  for  feet  that  run,  for  hands  that  are  gentle, 
tender,  and  full  of  help !  But  there  will  be  need 
of  much  and  constant  exercise  to  possess  all 
91 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

this.  Church  members  who  wait  for  special 
helps  in  revivals  will  not  possess  these  world- 
uplifting,  soul-saving  qualities.  O,  that  God 
would  save  our  churches  from  waiting  for 
special  helps  in  revivals! 

And  yet  I  must  not  be  misunderstood.  I 
would  not  say  a  word  against  any  evangelist 
called  of  God  to  the  work;  I  would  not  put  a 
straw  in  the  way  of  any  such  man  or  woman. 
But  what  I  do  plead  for  is  that  every  pastor 
and  every  church  should  constantly  be  engaged 
in  evangelistic  work,  and  not  depend  upon 
special  outside  helps.  If  all  our  pastors  and 
churches  would  just  now  throw  themselves 
into  this  glorious  work  holy  fire  would  descend 
in  Pentecostal  glory,  and  revivals  would  break 
out  in  all  directions. 

92 


CHATPER  XI 
Pastoral    Visitation 


CHAPTER  XI 
Pastoral  Visitation. 

Sow  in  the  morn  thy  seed ; 

At  eve  hold  not  thy  hand; 
To  doubt  and  fear  give  thou  no  heed, 

Broadcast  it  o'er  the  land. 

Thou  canst  not  toil  in  vain : 

Cold,  heat,  and  moist,  and  dry, 
Shall  foster  and  mature  the  grain 

For  garners  in  the  sky. 

— James  Montgomery. 

Ye  know,  from  the  first  day  that  I  came  into  Asia, 
after  what  manner  I  have  been  with  you  at  all  sea- 
sons, .  .  .  and  how  I  kept  back  nothing  that  was  prof- 
itable unto  you,  but  have  showed  you,  and  have  taught 
you  publicly,  and  from  house  to  house,  testifying  both 
to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  toward 
God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  There- 
fore watch,  and  remember,  that  by  the  space  of  three 
years  I  ceased  not  to  warn  everyone  night  and  day  with 
tears.— Acts  xx,  i8,  20,  21,  31. 

Revivals  that  are  permanent  in  their  results 
involve  much  house-to-house  visiting.     A  re- 
vival without  this  will  usually  add  but  very  little 
to  the  real  strength  of  the  church.    It  is  not  an 
95 


The  Why,  Wpien,  and  How  of  Revivals 

easy  thing  to  do  the  pastoral  work  of  an  ordi- 
nary church.  It  cannot  be  done  as  it  should  be 
unless  the  pastor  is  thoroughly  conscientious. 
There  are  two  things  every  preacher  ought  to 
do  thoroughly,  honestly,  and  as  in  the  sight  of 
God.  The  first  of  these  is  his  pulpit  prepara- 
tion. The  second  is  his  pastoral  work.  It  is  to 
be  feared  that  some  preachers  have  but  small 
concern  for  either  of  these  things.  The  inevi- 
table result  is  that  after  a  few  fruitless  and  un- 
happy years  in  the  ministry  they  fall  out  by  the 
way,  and  life  is  a  sad  disappointment  and  fail- 
ure, and  this  when  the  outcome  might  well  have 
been  altogether  different.  Assuming  that  the 
preparation  for  the  pulpit  is  never  neglected, 
then  how  important  it  always  is  to  supplement 
this  with  faithful  pastoral  visitation.  In  the 
systematic  and  faithful  discharge  of  this  duty 
the  pastor  will  come  in  contact  with  his  people, 
and  in  proportion  as  he  knows  their  home  life, 
as  he  comes  to  know  the  heart  burdens,  cares, 
sorrows,  and  trials  of  his  people,  can  he  do 
them  real  good,  and  be  of  service  to  them  in 
all  their  times  of  need.  In  this  personal  inter- 
course abundant  opportunities  will  present 
themselves  to  cheer  and  assist  in  many  ways 
the  toiling,  struggling  saints  of  God,  and  at 
96 


Pastoral  Visitation 

the  same  time  come  very  near  the  hearts  of 
sinners  and  win  them  for  Christ. 

If  a  pastor  is  anxious  that  every  month,  not 
to  say  every  week,  should  witness  the  conver- 
sion of  sinners,  if  he  has  a  ceaseless,  yearning, 
unspeakable  desire  that  within  the  walls  of  his 
house  of  worship  there  should  constantly  be 
heard  the  cry  of  penitent  souls,  and  the  songs 
and  shouts  of  the  saved,  the  way  to  secure 
these  results  is  for  him  to  follow  the  example 
of  Paul,  and  preach  Jesus  from  house  to  house, 
and  with  tears  and  prayers  and  loving  entreaty 
persuade  precious  souls  to  accept  Christ. 

The  surest  way  to  win  souls  to  Christ  is  to 
take  them  one  by  one  and  by  direct  personal 
effort  show  them  their  peril,  their  duty,  their 
privilege,  and  urge  them  to  forsake  their  sins 
and  accept  Christ  by  faith  and  unite  with  God's 
people.  To  visit  from  house  to  house  needs 
both  care  and  preparation.  It  is  an  easy  thing 
to  run  about  among  the  people  with  no  definite 
purpose  except  to  perform  a  professional  duty 
in  a  formal  and  perfunctory  way;  it  is  quite 
different  to  seriously  and  soberly  go  from 
house  to  house,  with  the  express  purpose  of 
warning  and  entreating  the  people  to  forsake 
their  sins  and  turn  to  God.  Gay,  giddy,  jolly, 
(V  97 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

gossiping  pastors  will  never  succeed  in  this 
work,  and  it  is  equally  sure  that  they  will  never 
be  able  to  answer  at  the  judgment  seat  for  the 
souls  committed  to  their  charge.  If  all  our 
preachers  would,  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  in  the 
faithful  performance  of  their  vows,  enter  upon 
this  all-important  work  of  house-to-house  vis- 
itation, and  continue  it  through  the  year,  it 
would  result  in  the  most  wonderful  and  wide- 
spread revivals  of  religion. 

All  this  is  within  the  possibilities  of  every 
preacher.  Faithful  preaching  conjoined  with 
suitable  pastoral  visitation  means  the  revival 
spirit,  and  power,  and  fruits  abiding  through 
all  the  twelve  months  of  every  year.  Why  will 
not  every  pastor  use  these  divinely  appointed 
means  and  know  the  joy  of  a  perpetual  har- 
vest? 

Brothers,  why  not  even  now,  while  reading 
these  lines,  renew  your  vows,  and  seeking  a 
fresh  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  commence  the 
faithful  discharge  of  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  the  duties  that  can  devolve  upon  a 
pastor?  Brothers,  time  is  short,  and  what  we 
do  to  win  souls  to  Christ  must  be  done  right 
speedily.  Brothers,  are  we  ready  to  stand  be- 
fore the  great  white  throne? 
98 


chapti:r  XII 

Feeding    the    Floch 


CHAPTER  XII 
Feeding  the  Flock 

My  gracious  Master  and  my  God, 

Assist  me  to  proclaim, 
To  spread  through  all  the  earth  abroad, 

The  honors  of  thy  name. 

— Charles  Wesley. 

His  only  righteousness  I  show, 

His  saving  truth  proclaim : 
'Tis  all  my  business  here  below. 

To  cry,  "Behold  the  Lamb !" 

Happy,  if  with  my  latest  breath 

I  may  but  gasp  his  name ; 
Preach  him  to  all,  and  cry  in  death, 

"Behold,  behold  the  Lamb !" 

— diaries  Wesley. 

Preach  the  word;  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season; 
reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and  doc- 
trine. For  the  time  will  come  when  they  will  not 
endure  sound  doctrine;  but  after  their  own  lusts  shall 
they  heap  to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears; 
and  they  shall  turn  away  their  ears  from  the  truth,  and 
shall  be  turned  unto  fables.  But  watch  thou  in  all 
things,  endure  afflictions,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist, 
make  full  proof  of  thy  ministry, — 2  Tim.  iv,  2-5. 

The  great  work  of  the  preacher  is  to  build 
np  beHevers  and  lead  sinners  to  the  Saviour. 

lOI 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

The  vows  we  take  upon  ourselves  when  we  are 
ordained,  and  when  we  enter  the  Conference, 
are  of  the  most  solemn  and  binding  character. 
It  is  a  great  misfortune  if  we  are  even  tempted 
to  think  lightly  of  them.  It  is  disastrous  to 
come  to  a  state  of  mind  when  we  disregard 
them.  These  vows  are  intended  to  shut  us 
off  from  and  out  of  all  worldly  occupations  and 
pursuits.  They  shut  us  up  to  purely  minis- 
terial work.  They  put  upon  us  the  most  im- 
perative obligations  to  walk  in  the  love  and  fear 
of  God.  They  hold  us  steadily  to  the  sincerest 
and  most  earnest  efforts  to  attain  in  all  our  re- 
ligious experience  the  fullness  of  the  grace  of 
God.  They  require  us  to  devote  all  our  ener- 
gies, activities,  thoughts,  time,  and  strength  to 
the  two  great  enterprises  of  the  accredited  am- 
bassador of  the  court  of  heaven. 

We  may  concede,  without  any  attempt  at 
apology  or  explanation,  that  when  the  utmost 
has  been  done  that  can  be  done  by  the  most 
devoted  and  faithful  pastor  there  will  be  left 
in  every  church  a  residuum  of  worldly,  care- 
less, backslidden  members.  They  are  alike  in- 
different to  the  persuasions  of  love  and  the  de- 
nunciations of  wrath  which  we  find  on  many  a 
page  of  God's  holy  book.     They  are  joined  to 

102 


Feeding  the  Flock 

their  idols,  and  the  heart  of  God  yearns  over 
them  as  over  Ephraim  of  old,  and  would  not 
give  them  up;  yet  it  is  feared  that  many  of 
these  will  die  with  their  names  upon  the  church 
records  and  at  last  wake  up  to  find  themselves 
shut  out  of  heaven. 

This  condition  of  affairs  should  not  dis- 
hearten the  faithful  preacher,  nor  should  he 
allow  himself  to  be  tempted  by  the  enemy  of  all 
souls  to  desist  from  all  efforts  to  win  sinners 
until  all  the  church  members  are  just  right. 
The  arch  enemy  of  all  righteousness  is  never 
better  pleased  than  when  he  succeeds  in  mak- 
ing a  pious  and  sincere  preacher  believe  that 
no  ingathering  of  converts  can  be  realized  until 
the  last  church  member  comes  up  to  an  ideal 
standard  fixed  in  the  preacher's  mind.  Many 
a  rich  promise  of  revival  has  come  to  naught 
because  of  Satan's  success  with  some  conscien- 
tious pastor  just  at  this  very  point.  And  yet 
the  pastor  must  not  cease  to  lead  the  flock  by 
all  loving  persuasion  and  strong  presentation 
of  duty  into  the  green  pastures  and  beside  the 
still  waters.  The  Bible  does  not  present  an 
impossible  standard,  and  the  preacher  must 
hold  to  that  standard. 

There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  pastor 
103 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

can  succeed  in  his  efforts  to  build  up  the 
church.  The  first  and  all-important  source  of 
influence  is  a  holy  life  revealed  in  all  the  words 
and  actions  of  the  man  of  God.  The  church 
has  a  right  to  expect  this  of  any  man  who 
assumes  to  stand  in  the  sacred  desk  to  proclaim 
the  Gospel.  His  power  to  stimulate  and  help 
others  will  depend  very  much  upon  the  good 
opinion  of  those  who  sit  under  his  ministry. 
If  he  does  not  manifest  the  spirit  of  Christ,  if 
he  is  not  Christian  in  all  his  life  and  conversa- 
tion, if  he  does  not  command  his  own  words 
and  temper,  if  he  is  not  patient,  gentle,  long- 
suffering,  easy  to  be  entreated — if,  in  short, 
he  has  not  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  he  will  fail 
in  leading  others  to  that  full  experience  of  sal- 
vation which  every  believer  should  earnestly 
seek  for  and  believingly  expect.  A  holy  life  is 
more  potent  to  persuade  than  the  most  ornate 
and  eloquent  sermons.  One  foolish  word,  one 
petulant  action,  one  irreverent  look,  may  utter- 
ly destroy  the  effects  of  the  most  masterful  ser- 
mon.   The  preacher  needs  to  pray : 

"Arm  me  with  jealous  care, 

As  in  thy  sight  to  live; 
And  O,  thy  servant,  Lord,  prepare, 

A  strict  account  to  give." 
104 


Feeding  the  Flock 

With  a  holy  Hfe  the  preacher  needs  to  com- 
bine deep  sympathy  for  all  the  young  and  weak 
and  fearful  members  of  his  church.  We  can- 
not help  people  very  much  unless  we  can  weep 
with  those  who  weep  and  rejoice  with  those 
who  rejoice.  Combined  with  this  manifesta- 
tion of  sympathy  there  must  be  wisely  directed 
efforts  to  render  suitable  and  timely  aid,  and 
this  will  require  the  utmost  diligence,  activity, 
and  perseverance.  The  idle,  careless,  ease- 
loving,  pleasure-seeking  pastor  will  fail  from 
the  very  start.  His  mind  is  not  on  his  business, 
and  so  the  Master's  business  is  left  undone, 
and  the  sheep  go  astray,  and  the  poor  hireling 
shepherd,  seeing  the  wolf  coming,  fleeth  be- 
cause he  is  a  hireling.  *'The  Good  Shepherd 
giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep."  And  surely 
there  is  a  very  important  sense  in  which  every 
real  pastor  is  like  the  Good  Shepherd,  for  he 
gives  all  he  has  of  time  and  strength  and  skill 
to  care  for  the  flock  committed  to  his  charge. 

But  any  pastor  who  would  build  up  the 
church  in  holiness  must  preach  the  word.  He 
must  persuade,  convince,  rebuke,  reprove,  ex- 
hort, and  with  loving  tears  and  ceaseless 
prayers  and  pleadings  he  must  show  the  right 
way,  and  in  the  sweet,  blessed  Gospel  way  com- 
105 


The  Why,  When^  and  How  of  Revivals 

pel  men  to  v^alk  in  it.  What  the  puHpts  of  our 
Church  need  is  an  all-round  ministry,  strong, 
fearless,  scholarly,  earnest,  enthusiastic,  fully, 
gloriously  saved.  We  ought  to  have  in  our 
pulpits  more  strength,  more  variety,  more 
depth,  more  practicality,  more  Gospel,  a  wider 
scope  and  range  of  Gospel  themes,  and  all  set 
on  fire  with  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  mighty 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  do  not  want 
sensationalism,  nor  cranky  themes  announced 
in  the  daily  press,  nor  weak  attempts  to  discuss 
science,  nor  foolish  attacks  on  poor,  blatant 
infidels  and  atheists,  nor  platitudinous  investi- 
gations of  abstruse  subjects  of  metaphysics, 
philosophy,  and  dogmatics,  nor  pitched  battles 
with  the  noisy  coteries  or  individuals  who 
make  themselves  notorious  while  hoping  to  be- 
come famous  in  setting  up  some  old-time 
heresy  as  though  it  was  entirely  new  and  won- 
derful. No,  no,  no !  The  people  of  good  sense 
who  are  in  our  churches  do  not  want  any  of 
this  foolishness  in  the  pulpit,  for  they  know 
right  well  that  in  such  things  there  is  no  real 
spiritual  pabulum;  they  know  that  on  such 
stufT  they  will  famish  and  die.  The  cry  of  our 
people  is  more  and  more  for  the  pure,  plain 
Gospel  vitalized  in  the  heart  and  brain  of  a 
io6 


Feeding  the  Flock 

man  of  God  who  lives  under  the  shadow  of  the 
cross,  and  whose  lips  are  touched  with  living 
coals  from  off  the  heavenly  altars,  and  whose 
soul  has  felt,  and  continually  feels,  the  divine 
afflatus  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

These  essentials  which  the  preacher  must 
have  in  order  to  build  up  the  church  in  the 
most  holy  faith  are  those  precisely  which  are 
required  to  lead  sinners  to  the  Saviour.  O, 
this  wandering,  dying,  perishing  world !  O, 
these  crowded  ways  which  lead  down  to  death 
and  hell!  O,  the  awful,  dreadful  eternity 
which  waits  on  immortal  souls  who  meet  us 
every  day!  Would  that  God  in  his  infinite 
mercy  might  help  us  to  love  them  more,  and 
bear  them  in  our  hearts,  and  labor  for  them 
lest  suddenly  they  elude  our  efforts  and  die 
impenitent  and  unsaved! 
107 


CHAPTER  XIII 
LooKing   Out   for  Strangers 


CHAPTER  XIII 
Looking  Out  for  Strangers 

Saviour  of  men,  thy  searching  eye 
Doth  all  mine  inmost  thoughts  descry; 
Doth  aught  on  earth  my  wishes  raise, 
Or  the  world's  pleasures,  or  its  praise? 

The  love  of  Christ  doth  me  constrain 
To  seek  the  wandering  souls  of  men; 
With  cries,  entreaties,  tears,  to  save, — 
To  snatch  them  from  the  gaping  grave. 

— Trans,  by  John  Wesley. 

Shepherd  of  souls,  with  pitying  eye 
The  thousands  of  our  Israel  see ; 

To  thee  in  their  behalf  we  cry, 

Ourselves  but  newly  found  in  thee. 

See  where  o'er  desert  wastes  they  err, 
And  neither  food  nor  feeder  have, 

Nor  fold,  nor  place  of  refuge  near, 
For  no  man  cares  their  souls  to  save. 

— Charles  Wesley. 

I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in. — Matt,  xxv,  35. 

Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers:  for  thereby 

some  have  entertained  angels  unawares. — Heb.  xiii,  2. 

Neglect  of  this  duty  is  well-nigh  universal 
in  our  churches.  What  is  everybody's  busi- 
ness is  nobody's  business,  and  as  this  duty  is 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

common  to  all  it  is  neglected  by  all.  This 
growing  habit — and  a  very  bad  habit  it  is — of 
going  into  church  or  coming  out  of  church 
with  no  effort  to  notice  the  strangers  within  the 
gates  is  one  to  be  most  earnestly  condemned. 
Men  shake  hands  and  speak  with  men  they  see 
every  day  in  the  week,  and  women  speak  to 
women  the  very  same;  but  the  casual  visitor, 
the  newcomer,  is  overlooked,  if  not  ignored. 
Here  is  a  case  that  was  probably  repeated  in  a 
thousand  churches  the  very  last  Sunday:  A 
well-dressed  woman  and  two  fine,  first-class 
young  men  went  to  the  morning  service  of 
one  of  our  largest  and  most  popular  churches. 
After  some  time  spent  in  waiting  for  the  usher 
they  were  shown  into  a  good  pew,  the  sixth 
from  the  pulpit ;  in  fact,  as  good  a  pew  as  there 
was  in  the  church  was  placed  at  their  entire 
disposal.  At  the  close  of  the  service  they  slow- 
ly and  quietly  left  the  pew,  entered  the  aisle, 
and  walked  unmolested  the  whole  length  of  the 
aisle,  out  into  the  vestibule,  lingered  for  a  little 
by  the  outer  door,  and  then  took  their  depart- 
ure for  their  home,  and  from  first  to  last  no 
one  had  reached  out  to  them  the  friendly  hand, 
or  said  ''Good  morning,"  or  "We  are  glad  to 
see  you  here,  and  will  be  glad  to  see  you  again." 

112 


Looking  Out  for  Strangers 

The  only  word  spoken  to  them  was  ''Seats?" 
by  the  usher,  and  when  his  question  was 
answered  with  "If  you  please"  the  whole  so- 
ciability of  the  occasion  was  exhausted,  and 
the  visiting  trio  escaped  to  the  sunshine  of  the 
street,  feeling  a  great  relief  from  the  utter 
formality  and  coldness  of  the  worshiping  con- 
gregation where  they  had  attended  service. 
The  most  singular  thing  is  that  in  the  audi- 
torium every  morning,  at  the  close  of  wor- 
ship, a  large  class  of  young  men,  a  department 
of  the  Sunday  school,  assembles  to  study  the 
lesson  for  the  day.  Many  of  the  young  men 
are  members  both  of  the  church  and  the  Ep- 
worth  League.  Probably  fifty  or  more  of 
them  were  in  the  church,  and  yet  they  let  two 
excellent  young  strangers  come  and  go,  and  in 
all  the  company  there  was  not  a  young  man 
with  business  tact  and  Christian  fraternity 
enough  to  welcome  the  two  visitors,  who  were 
not  boys,  but  tall,  conspicuous  young  men,  nor 
invite  them  to  join  the  Sunday  school  class. 
How  many  times  the  experiment  could  be  re- 
peated is  uncertain,  but  very  likely,  from  the 
sample,  an  indefinite  number. 

It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  in  neglect- 
ing strangers  we  throw  away,  or  miss  securing, 

(8)  113 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

those  who  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  our 
cause  and  our  Church  in  the  future. 

Years  ago  the  son  of  a  devoted  Methodist 
mother  left  his  country  home  to  make  his  for- 
tune in  the  city  of  Boston.  His  mother  was 
very  poor,  and  a  widow.  The  boy  had  been 
most  carefully  trained,  was  a  converted  boy, 
was  a  member  of  the  church,  and  had  the 
promise  of  great  usefulness.  He  had  always 
lived  in  the  country,  was  timid,  diffident,  and 
retiring  in  his  nature,  and  all  the  more  so 
under  the  changed  conditions  of  city  life.  The 
first  Sunday  in  the  city  he  sought  out,  as  his 
mother  had  suggested,  a  Methodist  church. 
Doubtless  his  clothes  were  not  especially  gay 
nor  fine,  and  he  was  just  a  poor  country 
boy,  and  not  especially  attractive  in  his  ap- 
pearance, the  result  of  all  which  was  that  he 
waited  a  long  time  for  a  seat,  and  then  the 
janitor,  or  sexton,  dropped  him  into  the  back 
seat  of  all,  under  the  shadow  of  the  gallery. 
After  the  benediction  he  took  his  departure, 
and  not  a  word  had  been  spoken  to  him  by 
man,  woman,  or  child.  The  orphan  boy,  com- 
mencing a  struggle  for  life,  was  completely 
overlooked.  No  one  cared  for  his  soul,  or 
body  either.  This  experience  continued  for 
114 


Looking  Out  for  Strangers 

seven  successive  Sundays,  and  then  in  complete 
desperation,  absolutely  frozen  out  of  this 
Methodist  church,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he 
would  drop  into  a  Baptist  church  that  he  had 
passed  every  Sunday  morning  as  he  had  been 
going  to  his  own.  Scarcely  was  he  inside  the 
door  before  a  genial,  warm-hearted  usher  took 
him  by  the  hand  and  in  the  pleasantest  way 
said,  "Good  morning.  You  haven't  been  long 
in  the  city.  Glad  to  see  you  out  to  church  so 
early.  Hope  you  will  keep  up  the  good  habit. 
Let  me  give  you  a  good  seat  now,  and  every 
morning  look  for  me  and  I  will  see  you  are 
well  taken  care  of;  and,  by  the  way,  we  want 
you  in  our  Sunday  school;  and  what  is  your 
name,  and  where  do  you  board?"  Down  went 
the  young  man's  name  and  address  in  a  little 
book,  and  he  was  shown  into  a  nice  seat,  and 
the  young  man  from  that  day  on  was  a  Baptist. 
In  the  final  event  he  became  a  very  prosperous 
merchant,  an  enthusiastic  Baptist,  and  one  of 
the  most  efficient  church  and  Sunday  school 
workers  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  all  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Baptist  usher  was  wise;  the 
Methodist,  in  this  case,  was  exceedingly  foolish. 
The  unthinkable  carelessness,  indifference, 
not  to  say  stupidity,  of  very  many  of  our  peo- 
ns 


The  Wh\%  When^  and  How  of  Revivals 

pie  in  regard  to  looking  out  for  strangers  is  so 
common  that  illustrations  multiply  on  every 
hand.  Long  years  ago,  v^hen  I  v^as  a  student 
in  college,  I  had  occasion  to  spend  a  Sunday 
in  one  of  the  larger  towns  on  the  Hudson 
River,  not  very  far  above  New  York  city. 
Going  to  the  Methodist  church  in  good  season, 
I  lingered  a  long  while  in  the  vestibule  waiting 
for  the  usher  to  show  me  a  seat,  but  he  and  the 
in-going  people  were  alike  oblivious  to  my 
presence,  so  that  finally  I  walked  in  and  helped 
myself  to  a  seat,  where  the  cushions  did  not 
appear  to  be  much  used ;  and,  as  the  case  turned 
out,  I  had  the  whole  pew,  the  fourth  from  the 
pulpit,  to  myself.  At  the  close  of  the  service  a 
class  meeting  was  announced,  and  while  the 
congregation  dispersed  I  remained  in  my  pew, 
while  those  who  remained  to  attend  the  class 
meeting  gathered  in  the  front  pews.  The 
preacher  led  the  class,  speaking  to  each  one  in 
turn,  and  while  I  was  not  twenty  feet  away 
from  him  he  ignored  my  presence,  concluded 
the  meeting,  and  then  the  people  arose  to  take 
their  leave,  with  no  little  chattering  and  hand- 
shaking and  general  sociability.  Then  the 
idea  came  to  me  that  I  would  test  their  style 
of  fraternity,  and  so  passing  down  the  aisle  to 
ii6 


Looking  Out  for  Strangers 

the  outer  door,  the  only  one  that  was  open,  I 
took  my  stand  on  the  threshold  in  such  a  way 
that  no  man  or  woman  could  pass  out  without 
coming  near  enough  to  touch  me  with  the  ex- 
tended elbow,  and  there  I  remained  till  preacher 
and  all  had  passed  out,  busy  with  themselves 
and  their  gossip,  and  not  one  in  all  the  number 
had  apparently  noticed  me,  much  less  had 
spoken  to  me,  until  at  last,  while  I  was  medi- 
tating upon  the  event,  the  janitor  came  along 
and  shut  and  locked  the  door  while  I  was 
standing  close  to  the  threshold,  and,  like  the 
others,  he  was  so  taken  up  with  his  thoughts 
or  business  that  he  uttered  not  a  word.  Why 
will  people  persist  in  doing  such  things,  and  so 
turning  away  from  the  house  of  God  hungry 
people,  who  might  be  won  for  Christ  and  much 
service  by  a  warm  hand-shake,  a  kind  word, 
and  some  slight  attention  that  real  Christian 
love  would  naturally  incite  and  prompt  ? 

What  every  church  member  needs  is  a  feel- 
ing of  personal  responsibility  to  look  after 
strangers  and  see  that  no  one  comes  within 
reach  without  a  cordial  welcome  and  an  invi- 
tation to  come  again.  Especially  the  young 
people  drifting  into  our  churches  ought  to  be 
cared  for  most  sedulously  and  lovingly,  that 
117 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

we  may  turn  them  not  only  to  our  membership, 
but  that  we  may  win  them  from  those  influ- 
ences and  associations  that  are  so  abundant, 
enticing,  and  destructive. 

It  is  surprising  how  many  years  good  people 
can  eo  to  the  same  church  and  not  know  each 
other.  In  our  larger  city  churches  those  who 
sit  on  one  side  of  the  church  may  be  as  much 
strangers  to  those  who  sit  on  the  other  side  as 
though  they  did  not  belong  to  the  same  congre- 
gation. It  is  also  true  that  in  some  of  our 
churches  strangers  may  drop  in  from  time  to 
time  and  never  hear  a  word  of  welcome,  and 
never  receive  an  invitation  to  come  again. 
There  is  special  danger  in  this  respect  in  re- 
gard to  young  people  and  strangers  in  humble 
life  who  frequent  our  churches. 

There  ought  to  be  a  radical  change  in  many 
of  our  places  of  worship  in  regard  to  the  treat- 
ment of  strangers.  First  of  all  the  pastor 
should  set  the  example  of  cordial  sociability. 
Let  him  learn  the  happy  art  of  greeting  stran- 
gers kindly,  and  shaking  hands  with  them  in 
a  genial,  courteous  manner.  He  need  not  gush 
— in  fact,  he  ought  not  to  do  so — but  he  can  be 
really  and  truly  interested,  and  should  treat  the 
poor  and  the  rich  with  equal  consideration. 
ii8 


Looking  Out  for  Strangers 

If  this  be  the  duty  of  the  pastor,  none  the 
less  is  it  the  duty  of  the  people :  Every  church 
member,  whether  young  or  old,  ought  to  feel  a 
personal  responsibility  for  ''the  strangers  with- 
in the  gates."  How  many  hearts  would  be 
cheered  by  a  kind  word!  A  lonesome  feeling 
fills  the  heart  when  away  from  home.  This  is 
true  in  the  case  of  the  one  who  enters  for  the 
first  time  a  house  of  worship  where  all  is  un- 
familiar and  where  all  faces  are  strange.  Why 
do  not  all  Christian  people  watch  for  such,  and 
take  the  pains  to  speak  to  them,  find  out  their 
names  and  their  residences,  and  then  call  on 
them,  and  ask  the  pastor  to  do  the  same.  Our 
American  people  are  nomadic,  they  are  forever 
going  about  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other.  They  are  in  danger  of  becoming  stran- 
gers in  a  strange  land.  They  must  be  noticed 
and  cared  for  when  they  come  into  our 
churches.  Let  every  church  member  do  his  or 
her  full  duty  and  there  will  be  no  longer  cause 
for  complaint.  We  plead  for  more  friendliness 
and  more  sociability  in  all  our  congregations. 
This  is  one  of  the  sure  ways  to  fill  our  houses 
of  worship  and  build  up  enduring  congrega- 
tions. 

"9 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Saving   the    Children 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Saving  the  Children 

Shepherd  of  tender  youth, 
Guiding  in  love  and  truth 

Through  devious  ways ; 
Christ    our    triumphant    King, 
We  come  thy  name  to  sing ; 
Hither  our  children  bring 

To  shout  thy  jpraise. 

— Trans,  by  H.  M.  Dexter. 

Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  ? 
He  saith  unto  him.  Yea,  Lord;  thou  knowest  that  I 
love  thee.  He  saith  unto  him,  Feed  my  lambs. — John 
xxi,  15. 

Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid 
them  not;  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God. — Mark 
X,  14. 

He  who  saves  the  children  saves  the  church. 
The  children  will  not  be  saved  unless  an  effort 
be  made  to  save  them.  First  of  all,  parents  are 
responsible,  then  the  pastor,  then  the  Sunday 
school  teacher.  The  relation  of  the  pastor  to 
the  children  is  very  peculiar  and  interesting. 
His  words,  whether  spoken  in  church  or  the 
home,  are  sure  to  make  a  lasting  impression  on 
the  mind  of  the  child.  A  smile,  a  pleasant 
123 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

word,  go  a  long  way  with  a  child.  A  rough 
word,  an  unkind  action,  may  give  a  child  a 
prejudice  against  preachers  that  will  be  life- 
long. 

"A  pebble  in  the  brooklet  scant 
Has  turned  the  course  of  many  a  river; 

A  dewdrop  on  the  baby  plant 
Has  warped  the  giant  oak  forever." 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  in  these  days,  in 
very  many  respects,  more  attention  is  paid  to 
children  than  ever  in  the  past.  This  ought  to 
be  the  case  in  religious  matters;  indeed,  it  is  to 
some  extent.  The  Romanists,  who  in  their  gen- 
eration are  wiser  than  the  children  of  light,  if 
Protestants  may  be  regarded  as  the  children  of 
the  light,  have  taken  care  that  their  children 
should  be  carefully  and  thoroughly  instructed 
in  the  dogmas  of  their  faith.  Two  little  girls 
were  once  discussing  their  respective  religious 
training.  One  was  a  Romanist,  the  other  a 
Protestant.  Finally  the  little  Protestant  ex- 
claimed, "I  would  not  believe  such  nonsense." 
*'Yes,"  replied  the  little  Romanist,  "and  I 
would  not  either,  but  I  just  have  to  believe  it." 
She  believed  it  whether  or  no,  because  she  had 
been  persistently  taught  it.  The  Romish  hie- 
rarchy has  more  care  for  children  under  ten  or 
124 


Saving  the  Childpen 

twelve  years  of  age  than  for  any  other  class  of 
its  adherents,  unless  it  is  for  aged  rich  people 
whose  money  it  seeks.  The  result  is  that  the 
children,  in  spite  of  their  association  with 
Protestant  children,  and  in  spite  of  their  at- 
tendance on  the  public  schools,  become  the 
stanch  followers  of  the  Church  and  faith  in 
which  they  have  been  trained. 

How  long  shall  we  be  in  learning  a  lesson  of 
wisdom  from  the  example  that  is  set  before  us  ? 
It  must  be  confessed  that  our  present  Sunday 
schools  are  not  really  training  schools,  where 
the  children  are  indoctrinated  in  the  fundamen- 
tals of  Christian  faith.  The  courses  of  study 
lack  the  essential  elements  of  continuity  and 
definiteness  of  purpose.  They  do  not  have 
clear  and  pronounced  inculcation  of  our  doc- 
trines. They  touch  here  and  there  upon  mat- 
ter of  faith,  but  being  interdenominational  they 
are  decidedly  indeterminate,  and  often  vague 
and  uncertain.  If  we  wish  for  a  generation  of 
intelligent  and  substantial  Methodists  we  must 
train  them  carefully  in  our  own  doctrines.  The 
best  way  to  do  this  is  to  teach  them  our  cate- 
chism. We  are  well  supplied  with  catechisms. 
There  is  an  excellent  one  by  Z.  A.  Mudge  de- 
signed for  little  children.  Then  we  have  Num- 
125 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

bers  I,  2,  and  3.  The  doctrines  are  the  same 
in  all,  only  somew^hat  more  fully  set  forth  in 
the  numbers  as  they  advance. 

It  would  be  a  most  blessed  thing  if  the  par- 
ents would  give  an  hour  or  two  each  week  to 
instructing  their  children  in  the  catechism. 
But  whether  or  not  they  attend  to  this  duty,  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  pastor  to  see  that  the  chil- 
dren are  not  neglected.  The  Discipline  is  very 
explicit  in  regard  to  this  matter.  It  enumerates 
the  duties  of  every  pastor,  and  among  these 
duties  it  says  it  is  the  duty  of  the  pastor,  of 
every  pastor,  "to  catechise  the  children  publicly 
in  the  Sunday  school,  and  at  special  meetings 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  also  privately; 
to  report  to  each  Quarterly  Conference  the  ex- 
tent to  which  he  has  done  this  work."  If  this 
duty  were  faithfully  performed  the  next  gener- 
ation of  Methodists  would  be  rooted  and 
grounded  in  the  faith,  and  would  not  be  drawn 
hither  and  thither  by  every  foolish  fad  and 
skeptical  pretense  and  conscienceless  critic.  In 
these  days  the  world  needs  people  with  creeds. 
126 


CHAPTER  XV 

Sunday    ScHool    and   Ep-wortH 
League 


CHAPTER  XV 
Sunday  School  and  Epworth  League 

Father  of  mercies,  in  thy  word 

What  endless  glory  shines ! 
Forever   be   thy   name   adored 

For  these  celestial  lines. 

— Anne  Steele. 

O  may  the  gracious  words  divine, 

Subject  of  all  my  converse  be; 
So  will  the  Lord  his  follower  join, 

And  walk  and  talk  himself  with  me : 
So  shall  my  heart  his  presence  prove, 
And  burn  with  everlasting  love. 

—Charles  Wesley. 

Search  the  Scriptures;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have 
eternal  life:  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me.— 
John  v,  39. 

But  continue  thou  in  the  things  which  thou  hast 
learned  and  hast  been  assured  of,  knowing  of  whom 
thou  hast  learned  them ;  and  that  from  a  child  thou  hast 
known  the  holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make 
thee  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus. — 2  Tim.  iii,  14,  I5- 

For  what  nation  is  there  so  great,  who  hath  God  so 
nigh  unto  them,  as  the  Lord  our  God  is  in  all  things 
that  we  call  upon  him  for?  And  what  nation  is  there 
so  great,  that  hath  statutes  and  judgments  so  righteous 
as  all  this  law,  which  I  set  before  you  this  day?  Only 
take  heed  to  thyself,  and  keep  thy  soul  diligently,  lest 
(9)  129 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

thou  forget  the  things  which  thine  eyes  have  seen,  and 
lest  they  depart  from  thy  heart  all  the  days  of  thy  life : 
but  teach  them  thy  sons,  and  thy  sons'  sons. — Deut. 
iv,  7-9. 

Two  and  a  half  millions  and  more  are  en- 
rolled in  the  Sunday  schools  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Year  by  year  the  number 
increases.  Our  schools  are  organized  and  oper- 
ated in  all  climes.  They  thrive  beneath  the 
Southern  Cross.  They  are  planted  within  the 
Arctic  Circle.  They  are  a  power  for  good 
wherever  they  exist.  They  inspire  and  inform 
the  intellect.  They  teach  the  highest  style  of 
morals  the  world  has  ever  known.  They  en- 
courage, foster,  develop,  and  fructify  the  divine 
spiritual  life  in  the  soul.  They  are  the  hope  of 
the  Church  and  the  world.  They  must  be 
active,  potent,  and  wisely  directed  in  the  three 
all-important  particulars  just  mentioned.  No 
Sunday  school  can  justify  its  existence  unless 
it  has  a  constant  care  for  the  intellectual,  moral, 
and  spiritual  life  of  those  who  make  up  its 
membership.  Most  of  those  who  are  enrolled 
in  our  Sunday  schools  are  young  people,  the 
vast  majority  being  under  twenty-five  years  of 
age.  They  are  in  the  formative  period  of  life. 
They  are  not  fixed,  settled,  grounded  in  their 
130 


Sunday  School  and  Epworth  League 

opinions,  convictions,  and  habits.  They  are 
especially  susceptible  to  all  influences  which 
surround  them.  They  are  open  to  influences 
that  are  helpful,  heavenly,  benignant;  at  the 
same  time  they  are  as  open  to  influences  that 
are  harmful,  worldly,  malignant.  The  arch 
enemy  of  all  goodness  and  of  all  youth  is  not  a 
careless  spectator  of  our  Sunday  schools.  He 
stands  by  the  threshold  of  every  home  and  sees 
the  young  people  as  they  set  out  for  the  Sun- 
day school  room;  he  follows  them  along  the 
street,  it  may  be  tempting  them  by  the  way; 
and  most  likely  he  finds  a  place  with  the  people 
of  God  even  within  the  sacred  walls  of  the 
Sunday  school  room.  We  cannot  have  the  sole 
and  unchallenged  opportunity  to  influence  and 
direct  the  minds  of  our  young  people.  A 
thousand  snares  and  pitfalls  beset  their  path- 
ways; a  thousand  bewildering  allurements  daz- 
zle their  wondering  eyes;  a  thousand  persua- 
sive voices  call  them  away  from  the  narrow 
path  of  life,  and  encourage  them  to  enter  the 
broad  way  that  with  artful  but  satanic  hands 
has  been  strewn  with  what  appears  to  be  flow- 
ers as  beautiful  and  fragrant  as  ever  bloomed 
in  paradise.  Surely  it  will  be  no  small  and 
feeble  effort  that  can  hold  young  souls  to  the 
131 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

ways  of  penitence,  faith,  and  holy  Hving  when 
they  are  confronted  by  all  these  things  that  are 
well  calculated  to  touch  the  deepest  sensibilities 
of  their  natures,  and  to  which  all  that  is  within 
them  that  is  earthly,  depraved,  and  sinful  so 
naturally  and  sympathetically  responds. 

The  only  way  for  our  young  people  to  over- 
come in  this  mighty  conflict  that  comes  to  all, 
the  only  way  to  reach  the  best  results  intellec- 
tually, morally,  and  spiritually,  is  through  re- 
pentance and  faith,  which  ultimate  in  a  sound, 
clear,  definite  conversion — a  conversion  that  is 
consciously  received,  and  then  witnessed  to  by 
the  direct  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  To 
bring  our  young  people  to  such  an  experience 
as  this,  an  experience  which  involves  the  idea 
of  heart  purity,  a  renunciation  of  all  worldli- 
ness,  a  devotement  of  all  the  powers  and  facul- 
ties of  body,  mind,  and  soul,  ought  to  be  the 
constant  desire  and  ambition  of  every  worker 
in  all  our  Sunday  schools,  from  the  superin- 
tendent down  to  the  youngest  and  humblest 
teacher.  There  must  be  this  desire  and  am- 
bition, or  the  work  will  never  be  accomplished. 
We  find  what  we  seek.  We  hit  the  mark  at 
which  we  aim.  We  accomplish  the  purpose 
for  which  we  consecrate  our  lives.  Surely  we 
132 


Sunday  School  and  Epworth  League 

may  fail  even  when  we  have  done  our  very 

best.    But,  then,  and  always,  let  us  say  to  our 

souls : 

"Fear  not; 
For  all  may  have,  if  they  dare  try, 
A  glorious  life  or  grave." 

But  in  these  harvest  fields  of  God  it  is  abso- 
lutely sure  that  failure  can  never  come  to  those 
who  join  themselves  to  God  and  are  the  holy 
and  helpful  influences  of  earth  and  heaven. 
The  word  of  the  heavenly  Father  assures  us 
that  ''He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bear- 
ing precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again 
with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him.'* 
And  Jesus  himself  says :  "He  that  reapeth  re- 
ceiveth  wages,  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  eternal 
life."  The  double  promise  makes  it  sure  that 
"we  cannot  toil  in  vain." 

In  every  Sunday  school  in  our  Church  there 
ought  to  be  a  revival  every  year.  Such  a  con- 
summation ought  to  be  expected,  and  prepara- 
tions for  it  ought  to  be  made  with  as  much 
method  and  forecast  as  the  farmer  gives  to  the 
production  of  his  crops.  The  farmer  has  the 
divine  promise  that  seedtime  and  harvest  shall 
never  fail.  All  workers  for  souls  have  prom- 
ises just  as  sure,  and  as  often  verified  in  all 
133 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

parts  of  the  world  and  in  all  ages  of  the 
Church,  that  spiritual  harvests  will  be  gathered 
when  God's  husbandry  comply  with  the  possi- 
ble and  easily  understood  laws  and  conditions 
of  the  kingdom  of  grace. 

That  the  Sunday  school  may  measure  up  to 
its  opportunity  in  revival  effort  it  is  essential 
that  the  superintendent  should  be  a  truly  con- 
verted man.  He  must  be  a  godly  man.  He 
must  enjoy  the  sweetness  of  the  Gospel  in  his 
own  soul.  He  must  manifest  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  in  his  daily  life,  and  especially  in  his 
intercourse  with  both  teachers  and  scholars. 
In  all  these  respects  every  teacher  ought  to  be 
like  the  superintendent.  And,  here — pardon 
the  word  of  earnest  persuasion — if  these  words 
should  be  read  by  any  Sunday  school  worker 
who  confesses  to  his  own  soul  that  he  does  not 
come  up  to  the  required  standard,  I  beg  of  you 
without  delay  to  enter  some  secret  place  where 
you  may  be  alone  with  God,  and  resolve  that 
you  will  never  cease  your  efforts,  never  cease 
your  prayers  and  tears,  until  you  are  personally 
saved  to  the  uttermost,  and  graciously  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  so  prepared  for  the 
all-important  work  to  which  you  are  called.  I 
once  knew  a  most  exemplary  young  teacher 
134 


Sunday  School  and  Epv/orth  League 

who  had  a  class  of  fifteen  young  ladies  from 
sixteen  to  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  not  one 
of  them  had  ever  made  a  profession  of  religion. 
They  were,  like  so  many  young  ladies  of  their 
age,  more  concerned  for  worldly  pleasure  than 
for  the  eternal  interests  of  their  souls.  For 
more  than  a  year  their  teacher  had  constantly 
been  in  her  place;  she  was  faithful  and  beloved; 
but  month  after  month  passed,  and  her 
class  seemed  to  be  drifting  away  from  God. 
At  length  the  teacher's  heart  was  troubled;  she 
could  not  rest.  She  asked  herself,  ''How  can  I 
answer  to  God  for  these  precious  souls?"  A 
time  of  serious  heart-searching  followed,  in 
which  it  was  revealed  to  her  that  she  was  not 
just  right  herself.  For  nearly  three  weeks  she 
cried  out  for  divine  help,  and  at  last  her  prayer 
was  heard  and  answered,  and  she  came  into 
the  enjoyment  of  a  richer,  deeper,  clearer, 
sweeter  experience  of  salvation  than  she  had 
ever  known.  Then  there  came  to  her  a  won- 
derful burden  of  soul  for  her  class.  Night  and 
day  her  prayers  wxnt  up  to  God  for  his  help, 
and  for  the  convincing  and  convicting  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  she  prayed  until  two 
weeks  had  passed,  until  she  had  the  witness 
that  her  prayer  was  answered.  She  went  to  her 
135 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

pastor  and  told  him  of  her  experience  and  her 
hope  that  her  class  v^ould  be  converted,  and 
urged  him,  at  the  close  of  the  Sabbath  evening 
service,  to  invite  penitents  to  come  forward  for 
prayers.  The  pastor  heeded  her  request;  that 
first  Sabbath  evening  three  of  the  young 
women  went  forward  for  prayers ;  a  week  from 
that  time  five  more  of  the  class  went  forward; 
and  two  weeks  later  the  remaining  seven  were 
at  the  altar,  and  the  entire  fifteen  were  blessed- 
ly converted,  and  in  due  time  joined  the  Church 
on  probation,  and  at  the  close  of  their  proba- 
tion they  were  all  received  into  the  Church  in 
full  connection.  In  the  meantime  the  revival 
spread,  and  more  than  a  hundred  besides  the 
fifteen  were  converted  and  became  connected 
with  the  Church. 

These  are  the  days  of  the  Sunday  school  and 
the  Epworth  League,  and  no  wise  pastor  will 
neglect,  much  less  ignore,  these  two  most  im- 
portant departments  of  our  Church  forces  when 
he  plans  a  revival  campaign.  If  the  officers 
and  teachers  of  the  Sunday  school,  and  if  the 
young  Christians  of  the  Epworth  League,  con- 
secrate themselves  to  the  active,  aggressive 
work  of  winning  souls  to  Christ  they  can  most 
effectually  help  on  the  revival.  The  pastor 
136 


Sunday  School  and  Epworth  League 

ought  to  keep  so  thoroughly  and  constantly  in 
touch  with  the  young  Christians  and  Sunday 
school  workers  that  he  can  certainly  count  on 
their  cooperation.  It  only  needs  a  little  judi- 
cious consultation  and  consequent  agreement 
as  to  time  and  method  of  work,  and  the  Ep- 
worth League  and  Sunday  school  will  stand 
side  by  side  with  the  pastor  and  the  official 
board  for  the  prosecution  of  services  that  look 
to  the  salvation  of  multitudes  of  precious  souls. 
Not  by  the  exercise  of  authority,  nor  by  com- 
pulsion, never  by  threats  and  scolding,  can  this 
combination  of  the  working  forces  of  the 
Church  be  secured;  but  rather  by  the  mani- 
festation on  the  part  of  the  pastor  of  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  by  tender  love  for  souls,  by  earnest 
devotion  to  the  work  of  God,  by  a  supreme 
personal  consecration  of  all  powers  and  facul- 
ties to  the  rescue  of  the  perishing,  and  by  that 
gracious  endowment  of  power  which  only 
comes  when  the  soul  is  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  filled  with  his  abiding  presence. 

O,  for  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  a  sound 
mind  on  the  part  of  all  our  preachers,  so  that 
they  may  successfully  lead  the  forces  of  the 
militant  Church  forth  to  such  victories  as  shall 
cause  joy  on  earth  and  in  heaven !  O,  that  they 
137 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

may  never  forget  that  to  give  efficiency  to 
wisest  plans  and  hardest  work  there  is  constant 
need  of  the  help  and  guidance  of  the  Com- 
forter. 

138 


CHAPTIIR  XVI 

Help    for    the    Sorrowing    and 
Suffering 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Help  for  the  Sorrowing  and  Suffering 

Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 

Our  hearts  in  Christian  love ; 
The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds 

Is  like  to  that  above. 

Before  our  Father's  throne, 

We  pour  our  ardent  prayers ; 
Our  fears,  our  hopes,  our  aims  are  one, 

Our  comforts  and  our  cares. 

— John  Fawcett. 

Rejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice,  and  weep  with 
them  that  weep. — Rom.  xii,  15. 

Blessed  be  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies,  and  the  God  of  all  com- 
fort; who  comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribulation,  that  we 
may  be  able  to  comfort  them  which  are  in  any  trouble, 
by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves  are  comforted 
of  God. — 2  Cor.  i,  3,  4. 

There  are  suffering  people  everywhere. 
There  are  sorrowing  people  everywhere. 
There  are  burdened,  breaking  hearts  every- 
where. More  than  the  fortunate  and  happy 
ever  imagine  are  they  who  walk  life's  journey 
with  sad  and  heavy  hearts.  There  are  sorrows 
141 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

that  come  from  poverty  and  sorrows  that  come 
from  sin.  There  are  griefs  that  burden  weary 
souls  because  of  disease  and  weakness  of  body, 
and  other  griefs  as  great  or  greater  that  result 
from  the  loss  of  loved  ones.  To  all  the  smitten, 
suffering,  and  discouraged  the  good  pastor  is 
indeed  a  son  of  consolation.  Doubtless  there 
are  numberless  records  of  sin  and  sorrow  and 
suffering,  but  one  is  now  lying  before  me  that 
has  greatly  touched  my  heart.  The  pastor 
who  is  giving  a  report  of  his  work  says :  ''The 
past  month  has  been  taken  up  as  follows:  I 
have  made  eighty  regular  pastoral  calls;  held 
eight  preaching  services;  attended  four  ses- 
sions of  the  Sunday  school,  and  led  a  Bible 
class;  held  after-services  following  the  preach- 
ing on  Sunday  evenings ;  attended  four  weekly 
prayer  meetings  and  two  class  meetings; 
officiated  at  several  funerals,  and  been  con- 
stant in  labors  among  the  sick  and  poor." 
Here  is  a  sample  of  one  afternoon's  work: 
"Called  where  the  wife  and  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren is  in  trouble.  The  younger  child  is  only 
four  weeks  old.  The  father  got  drunk  a  few 
nights  since,  fell  in  the  street,  and  cut  his  head 
very  badly,  was  brought  home  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  routed  the  poor  woman  up, 
142 


Help  for  the  Sorrowing  and  Suffering 

while  three  poHcemen  dragged  in  the  helpless 
sot.  She  has  not  slept  for  three  nights,  the 
husband  in  the  meantime  being  only  semicon- 
scious. They  are  poor,  and  have  nothing  with 
which  to  pay  rent  or  purchase  food."  Another 
family  not  far  from  the  one  just  mentioned: 
"Wife  and  four  children,  the  youngest  only  a 
few  weeks  old.  The  husband  drinking  up  all 
he  earns,  the  mother  sick,  and  the  family  left 
without  the  necessities  of  life.'*  Another  fam- 
ily still :  ''Wife  and  five  children,  and  all  the 
children  sick,  nothing  in  the  house  to  eat,  no 
means  to  buy  anything;  landlord  threatening 
to  turn  the  family  outdoors;  the  husband  full 
of  licensed  beer.  .  .  .  And  so  I  might  take 
you  to  a  score  of  such  families  who  attend  our 
church  if  they  attend  anywhere." 

And  all  this  in  this  so-called  Christian  land. 
It  is  enough  to  cause  the  hot  blood  of  right- 
eous wrath  to  stir  every  heart  that  is  loyal  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  What  an  unspeakable 
shame  and  disgrace  that  the  Christian  people 
of  this  day  and  generation  will  tolerate  the 
traffic  that  curses  so  many  homes!  If  the 
drink  habit  is  a  sin,  then  it  is  the  duty  of  all 
good  people  to  remove  the  temptation  to  sin. 
If  the  drink  habit  is  a  disease,  then  the  deadly 
143 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

poison  that  induces  the  disease  ought  to  be  put 
quite  out  of  the  reach  of  the  sick. 

These  facts  in  a  pastor's  experience  show  us 
that  vast,  difficult,  and  most  discouraging  ob- 
structions He  in  the  pathway  of  the  faithful 
pastor.  If  we  wait  for  outside  organizations 
to  remove  them  we  shall  wait  in  vain.  If  we 
wait  for  organizations  within  the  church,  our 
waiting  will  not  avail.  There  is  only  one  sure 
way  to  do  the  work  of  God  committed  to  the 
hands  of  God's  ambassadors — they  must  do  it 
themselves.  According  to  the  strength  and 
wisdom  given  them,  they  must  consecrate 
themselves  to  seeking  out  the  wretched,  the 
outcasts,  the  slaves  of  sin,  and  with  tender 
sympathy,  mighty  faith,  and  tireless  love  lift 
up  and  lead  to  Christ  even  the  most  hopeless. 
Such  service  calls  for  uttermost  devotement, 
self-denial,  and  self-sacrifice,  but  in  such  serv- 
ice the  soul  will  find  sweetest  fellowship  with 
the  blessed  Christ.  The  more  wretched  and 
hopeless  the  people,  the  more  need  of  the  pas- 
tor's presence,  sympathy,  and  love.  The  Mas- 
ter alone  knows  how  many  and  peculiar  are 
the  duties  of  the  pastor.  There  must  be  a  con- 
stant and  vivid  sense  of  the  presence  of  Jesus 
in  order  to  their  performance. 
144 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Securing    and    Caring    for 
Converts 


CHAPTER  XVII 
Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 

Come  to  the  living  waters,  come ! 

Sinners,  obey  your  Maker's  call ; 
Return,   ye  weary  wanderers,  home, 

And  find  his  grace  is  free  for  all. 

Nothing  ye  in  exchange  shall  give; 

Leave  all  you  have  and  are  behind  ; 
Frankly  the  gift  of  God  receive; 

Pardon  and  peace  in  Jesus  find. 

— John  Wesley. 

Sent  by  my  Lord,  on  you  I  call ; 

The  invitation  is  to  all : 

Come  all  the  world !  come,  sinner,  thou ! 

All  things  in  Christ  are  ready  now. 

My  message  as  from  God  receive ; 
Ye  all  may  come  to  Christ  and  live : 
O  let  his  love  your  hearts  constrain, 
Nor  suffer  him  to  die  in  vain. 

— Charles  Wesley. 

I  am  not  come  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to 
repentance. — Matt,  ix,  13. 

What  man  of  you,  having  a  hundred  sheep,  if  he  lose 
one  of  them,  doth  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  in  the 
wilderness,  and  go  after  that  which  is  lost,  until  he 
find  it? — Luke  xv,  4. 

Let  him  know,  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner 
147 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death, 
and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins. — James  v,  20. 

And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness 
of  the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness, as  the  stars  forever  and  ever. — Dan.  xii,  3. 


One  great  object  of  effort  on  the  part  of 
every  preacher  ought  to  be  the  conversion  of 
sinners.  In  every  community  unconverted 
people  are  to  be  found.  Some  of  them  attend 
rehgious  services,  but  the  vast  majority  of 
them  seldom  or  never  darken  the  doors  of  the 
house  of  God.  There  are  three  ways  in  which 
sinners  may  be  reached.  If  they  attend  re- 
ligious services  they  place  themselves  under  the 
direct  influence  of  the  Gospel,  and  so  they  are 
within  reach  of  God's  people.  One  way  to  reach 
those  who  are  not  churchgoers  is  for  the  Chris- 
tians of  any  given  community  to  search  them 
out  from  house  to  house  and  personally  labor 
with  them,  and  persuade  them  to  turn  from  sin 
and  accept  Christ.  Another  way  is  for  the 
pastor  to  follow  the  example  of  the  good  shep- 
herd who  left  the  ninety  and  nine  sheep  gath- 
ered within  the  fold,  and  went  out  to  seek  for 
the  lone  wandering  member  of  the  flock.  And 
it  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  lost  was 
found  it  was  not  driven  home,  but  it  was  ten- 
148 


Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 

derly  taken  up  in  the  arms  of  the  shepherd  and 
borne  gently  to  a  place  of  rest  and  safety. 

In  this  great  work  of  securing  converts  the 
pastor  must  have  the  active  cooperation  of  his 
people;  indeed,  he  ought  to  have  the  loving, 
loyal  cooperation  of  all,  from  the  youngest  to 
the  oldest.  Especially  should  all  unite  with 
the  pastor  in  earnest,  believing  prayer  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  con- 
version of  the  unsaved. 

It  will  be  found  in  eternity  that  one  of  the 
greatest  spiritual  influences  ever  wrought  by 
human  agency  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of 
men  is  earnest,  faithful,  effectual  prayer.  But 
this  prayer  in  behalf  of  the  unconverted  and 
unsaved  can  only  be  offered  by  those  who  have 
a  deep  personal  experience  of  the  divine  life. 
The  men  and  women  who  have  been  most  suc- 
cessful in  their  supplications  have  been  those 
who  have  lived  nearest  to  the  cross  and  most 
in  conformity  to  the  will  of  God.  If  we 
would  have  access  to  the  throne  we  must  ap- 
proach it  with  pure  hearts  and  clean  hands. 
Then  we  must  be  sure  that  we  ask  in  con- 
formity to  the  will  of  God,  and  in  harmony 
with  the  divine  order.  We  know  that  it  is 
the  will  of  God  that  all  should  come  unto  him 
149 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

and  be  saved.  It  is  contrary  to  his  v^ill  that 
any  soul  should  go  down  to  death.  But  with 
the  power  of  choice  and  the  exercise  of  free 
will  the  sinner  can  frustrate  the  grace  of  God, 
and  in  spite  of  divine  love  and  persuasion  and 
redemption  he  can  choose  death  for  himself  and 
resist  successfully  all  holy  influences  used  for 
his  salvation.  God  will  never  break  down  and 
destroy  the  will,  and  so  unmake  the  man,  to 
save  his  soul  from  death.  Hence  we  should 
never  pray,  and  never  expect,  that  a  soul  may 
be  saved  except  in  harmony  with  the  attributes 
with  which  God  has  so  regally  endowed  hu- 
manity. If  Christians  will  come  to  God  in 
his  own  appointed  way;  if  they  come,  them- 
selves saved  wnth  the  great  salvation,  then,  if 
the  word  of  Jesus  is  true,  they  may  ask  what 
they  will  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  them.  They 
may  also  ask  in  behalf  of  others,  and  prayer 
will  be  heard  and  answered  just  as  really  as 
when  the  man  in  the  gospel  went  to  his  neigh- 
bor's to  ask  for  bread  for  a  friend  who  had 
come  to  him  on  a  journey,  and  similar  impor- 
tunate prayer  will  bring  supplies  of  heavenly 
bread  for  hungry  souls.  Real  revivals  of  re- 
ligion take  place  only  as  the  result  of  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  human  hearts.  But  the 
150 


Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  that  most  wonderful  of 
sermons  recorded  in  John's  gospel,  tells  us 
that  when  he  is  gone  away  he  will  send  the 
Comforter,  who  shall  convince  the  world  of 
sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment.  This 
means  that  the  Spirit  will  be  given  to  the  un- 
saved in  order  to  enlighten,  convince,  and  per- 
suade them.  The  Spirit  operates  on  such  hearts 
in  answer  to  prayer.  Special  gifts  and  graces 
of  the  Spirit  only  come  in  answer  to  special 
prayer.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  God's  people  to 
call  upon  him  in  the  name  of  Jesus  to  give  his 
Spirit  in  gracious  power  to  visit  the  hearts  of 
the  unsaved.  The  word  of  the  Master  is, 
"Hitherto  have  ye  asked  nothing  in  my  name : 
ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may 
be  full."  If  all  members  of  the  Epworth 
League  could  enter  into  the  rich  experience  of 
salvation  which  waits  upon  their  entire  con- 
secration and  appropriating  faith,  and  if  they 
would  make  united  supplication  as  first  indi- 
cated, there  would  be  such  revelations  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  made  in  the  hearts  of  the  uncon- 
verted as  would  lead  multitudes  of  them  to 
seek  and  find  the  Saviour. 

An  incident  may  serve  to  illustrate.     Many 
might  be  given,  but  one  must  suffice. 
151 


The  Why^  When^  and  How  of  Revivals 

Years  ago  it  was  my  privilege  to  read  the 
manuscript  diary  of  one  of  the  saints.  I 
knew  the  writer  well  in  her  old  age,  when, 
weak  and  feeble,  and  past  threescore  years 
and  ten,  she  lingered  on  earth  to  bless  all  who 
knew  her.  In  early  life  she  gave  her  heart 
to  God,  and  for  many  years  she  kept  a  diary, 
and  after  her  death  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
reading  it. 

This  good  woman  lived  in  a  retired  though 
thriving  town  in  New  England,  in  which  at 
the  time  of  her  early  life  there  was  only  one 
Church.  While  glancing  along  the  pages  of 
the  diary  I  noticed  mention  made  of  the  fact 
that  she  and  two  or  three  other  women  had 
been  conversing  together  in  regard  to  the  spir- 
itual dearth  and  low  state  of  religion  that 
prevailed  in  the  Church  and  community. 
Looking  along,  I  saw  that  these  same  good 
women  had  covenanted  together  to  pray  for  a 
revival,  and  were  to  meet  from  week  to  week 
at  each  other's  homes  to  hold  a  prayer  meet- 
ing for  the  same  purpose.  Within  three 
weeks  the  entry  was  made  that  the  preacher 
had  been  unusually  earnest,  tender,  and  im- 
pressive, and  the  sermon  had  carried  with  it 
great  spiritual  influence.  Manifestly,  God's 
152 


Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 

Spirit,  in  answer  to  prayer,  had  reached  the 
pastor's  heart,  and  the  revival  had  commenced 
right  there,  and  surely  it  could  commence  in 
no  better  place.  Then,  as  I  glanced  along  the 
pages,  I  sav^  that  special  meetings  were  ap- 
pointed, and  then  followed  the  record  of 
awakenings  and  conversions,  and  baptisms 
and  additions  to  the  Church.  God's  work  had 
been  revived,  and  I  could  not  escape  the  con- 
viction that  it  had  been  brought  about  largely 
through  the  instrumentality  of  these  few  de- 
voted and  faithful  women.  And  so  I  looked 
on  through  the  diary  until  I  had  found  the 
records  of  five  distinct  and  separate  seasons 
of  revivals  in  this  one  Church;  and  each  of 
them  had  been  preceded  by  this  combination 
of  effort  and  prayer  on  the  part  of  these  same 
women. 

It  does  not  take  the  action  of  the  whole 
membership  of  any  given  Church  to  secure 
revival.  Let  every  sincere  follower  of  Jesus 
note  and  remember  this.  The  enemy  of  all 
righteousness  has  often  hindered  the  faith  of 
God's  humble  and  diffident  children,  and  has 
as  often  crippled  or  defeated  their  efforts,  by 
making  them  believe  that  all  the  members  of 
the  Church  must  be  living  near  to  God  and 

153 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

filled  with  his  Spirit  before  a  revival  can  be 
hoped  for.  No  greater  delusion  was  ever 
entertained,  no  worse  snare  was  ever  spread 
in  the  path  of  God's  children.  It  is  the  smok- 
ing flax  and  the  bruised  reed  that  God  remem- 
bers and  cares  for.  So,  if  in  any  church  there 
is  a  soul,  however  weak,  that  yet  has  one  sin- 
gle spark  of  grace,  and  in  response  to  sincere 
desire  and  prayer  the  divine  breath  shall  come 
to  that  soul,  where  is  hidden  the  slumbering 
spark,  even  then  and  there  the  revival  has 
commenced.  If  the  heavenly  flame  thus  kin- 
dled shall  be  cherished  and  tended,  soon  a  re- 
sponsive heart  will  begin  to  blaze,  and  so  the 
work  will  go  on  until  many  will  sing : 

"See  how  great  a  flame  aspires, 
Kindled  by  a  spark  of  grace !" 

Then  faith  cries  out : 

"To  bring  fire  on  earth  he  came; 

Kindled  in  some  hearts  it  is: 
O  that  all  might  catch  the  flame, 

All  partake  the  glorious  bliss !" 

Then,  joyful,  trusting,  toiling,  waiting  souls 
will  exclaim : 

"Saw  ye  not  the  cloud  arise, 

Little  as  a  human  hand? 
Now  it  spreads  along  the  skies. 

Hangs  o'er  all  the  thirsty  land ; 
154 


Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 

Lo!  the  promise  of  a  shower 

Drops  already  from  above ; 
But  the  Lord  will  shortly  pour 

All  the  Spirit  of  his  love." 

But  work  must  be  conjoined  with  prayer 
and  faith.  When  all  gifts  and  graces  have 
been  received,  and  when  prayer  has  been  of- 
fered in  behalf  of  the  unconverted,  there  yet 
remain  as  the  duty  of  every  Christian  direct 
and  personal  labors  for  the  salvation  of  the 
unconverted.  The  real  enjoyment  of  religion, 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  all  imply  that  there  is  contem- 
poraneous with  these,  and  concomitant  with 
these,  a  holy  and  unblamable  life.  There 
must  be  this  holy  life,  or  the  unconverted  will 
have  no  real  confidence  in  the  genuineness  of 
the  profession  of  religion  made  with  the  lips. 
If  any  Christian,  young  or  old,  lead  a  pure, 
upright,  and  holy  life,  such  life  is  a  convin- 
cing and  unanswerable  argument  for  the  reality 
and  excellence  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  at 
the  same  time  it  exerts  a  powerful  influence 
upon  all  who  are  its  subjects.  It  must  be 
noted  that  all  this  involves  the  idea  that 
worldliness,  and  frivolity,  and  pleasure-seek- 
ing, and,  in  fact,  everything  that  is  out  of 
harmony  with  the  best  type  of  religious  ex- 
155 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

perience,  must  be  laid  aside.  But  this  must 
be  done  by  everyone  who  wishes  the  richest 
experience  of  divine  blessing,  the  greatest 
spiritual  influence,  and  the  highest  success  in 
winning  souls  to  Christ. 

It  would  be  exceedingly  profitable  for  all 
members  of  the  Epworth  League  if  they  could 
select  from  among  their  most  intimate  un- 
converted friends  a  few,  say  five  or  ten,  more 
or  less,  and  write  down  their  names,  and  then 
mention  each  one  of  these  names  daily  in 
prayer,  and  plead  with  God  for  Jesus'  sake  to 
send  the  Spirit  with  convincing  power  to  each 
one  of  these  precious  souls;  and  it  w^ould  help 
in  this  if  two  or  three  of  our  young  Leaguers 
should  combine  their  lists  and  covenant  to- 
gether to  make  special  supplication  for  the 
unsaved  loved  ones.  They  might  well  re- 
member the  promise  of  the  Saviour,  "that  if 
two  of  you  should  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done 
for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
But  after  all  has  been  done,  and  all  prayers 
have  been  ofifered,  there  will  remain  the 
duty  of  going  to  the  unsaved  and  pleading 
earnestly  and  perseveringly,  and  yet  very 
tenderly,  with  them  to  give  themselves  to 
156 


Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 

Christ.  There  must  be  care  and  wisdom  in 
this  work,  or  it  will  be  all  in  vain.  The  time 
and  place  are  all-important.  In  almost  every 
case  it  is  better  to  take  the  unconverted  sepa- 
rately and  alone,  rather  than  in  company,  seek 
a  quiet  hour  free  from  all  distractions,  study 
the  moods  and  the  temperament,  never  unduly 
urge,  never  lose  faith  or  patience,  never  be  dis- 
couraged, ask  the  guidance  and  help  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Of  course  Epworth  Leaguers 
ought  to  be  very  faithful  in  their  attendance 
upon  all  the  means  of  grace,  and  they  ought  to 
bear  the  cross,  in  giving  in  their  testimony 
and  in  vocal  prayer  in  the  social  meetings,  but 
above  and  beyond  all  this  they  must  live  holy 
lives,  and  they  must  engage  in  this  direct  per- 
sonal effort.  Let  them  always  remember  that 
''he  that  reapeth  receiveth  wages  and  gather- 
eth  fruit  unto  life  eternal;"  that  "he  that 
goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious 
seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoi- 
cing, bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 

If  our  young  people  of  the  Epworth  League 
will  fully  give  themselves  up  to  the  Lord  and 
his  work  revivals  will  become  perennial,  and 
the  harvest  time  will  last  all  the  year.  "They 
that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
157 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

If  preacher  and  people  will  search  out  the 
unsaved,  whether  in  the  congregation  or  by 
the  wayside,  whether  in  the  byways  and 
hedges,  or  in  the  Sabbath  schools,  or  wherever 
they  may  be  found,  and  then  tell  them  per- 
sonally of  the  peril  of  sin,  the  need  of  repent- 
ance and  faith,  the  love  of  Christ,  the  willing- 
ness of  God  to  bless  and  save,  and  especially 
tell  them  of  the  joy,  the  love,  the  peace,  the 
comfort,  and  the  blessed  hopes  of  the  Christian 
life,  converts  will  be  secured. 

It  is  not  enough  that  we  secure  converts. 
We  must  care  for  them.  The  first  thing  to  be 
done  is  to  have  them  unite  with  the  church. 
This  is  said  on  the  assumption  that  they  are 
really  converted  and  have  found  Christ  in  the 
pardon  of  their  sins.  It  is  not  wise  to  urge 
awakened  souls  to  join  the  church,  much  less 
is  it  wise  to  urge  those  to  do  so  who  in  a 
moment  of  excitement  have  felt  that  they 
ought  to  turn  from  sin.  The  reason  why  so 
many  probationers  fail  to  become  full  members 
of  the  church  is  because  many  join  on  proba- 
tion who  have  not  been  converted.  An  awak- 
ened soul  ought  to  be  watched  over  and  aided 
158 


Securing  and  Caring  for  Converts 

until  a  clear  and  definite  experience  is  attained. 
Then  wise  and  careful  effort  should  be  made 
to  secure  the  names  of  all  such  for  member- 
ship on  probation.  In  this  work  the  pastor 
must  take  an  active  part.  He  should  know  all 
converts.  He  should  make  himself  their  friend 
and  adviser.  But  in  all  this  he  should  be  as- 
sisted by  class  leaders,  and  other  officials  of 
the  church,  and  in  fact  by  all  the  church  mem- 
bers. The  newborn  soul  ought  to  be  received 
with  a  warm  welcome,  and  should  be  made  to 
feel  that  in  coming  into  the  church  it  has  come 
to  a  glad  company  of  the  great  family  of  God's 
people.  The  average  church  member  can 
scarcely  realize  how  much  encouragement  can 
be  given  to  any  young  convert  by  a  warm 
grasp  of  the  hand  and  a  cheerful  word. 

Lord  of  the  living  harvest 

That  whitens  o'er  the  plain, 
Where  angels  soon  shall  gather 

Their  sheaves  of  golden  grain; 
Accept  these  hands  to  labor, 

These  hearts  to  trust  and  love, 
And  deign  with  them  to  hasten 

Thy  kingdom  from  above. 

As  laborers  in  thy  vineyard. 

Send  us,  O  Christ,  to  be 
Content  to  bear  the  burdens 

Of  weary  days  for  thee; 
159 


The  Why,  When,  and  How  of  Revivals 

We  ask  no  other  wages, 
When  thou  shalt  call  us  home, 

But  to  have  shared  the  travail 
Which  makes  thy  kingdom  come. 

Come  down,  thou  Holy  Spirit ! 

And  fill  our  souls  with  light. 
Clothe  us  in  spotless  raiment, 

In  linen  clean  and  white; 
Beside  thy  sacred  altar 

Be  with  us,  where  we  stand, 
To  sanctify  thy  people 

Through  all  this  happy  land. 

— /.  S.  B.  Monsell 

Now  unto  him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling, 
and  to  present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his 
glory  with  exceeding  joy,  to  the  only  wise  God  our 
Saviour,  be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and  power, 
both  now  and  ever.  Amen. — Jude  24,  25. 
160 


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